Life's a Ride
by dntblink
Summary: Max  goes to live at a new foster home. There she meets the kids, aka the flock. A certain black haired boy becomes her best friend, but it's only a matter of time before they realize they're meant to be more than friends. Friendship, highschool, FAX. AH
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. I decided to start another story, and at the same time stop neglecting my other ones. I try to aim high haha :P enjoy. And please please please review. I'll love you forever if you doooo**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I'm on fanfiction. I'm obviously a fan and not James Patterson.**

**By the way, this is mostly going to be in max's point of view, and occasionally in Fang's but 3****rd**** person.**

Max POV

I stared dejectedly out the window of the car. My social worker, Claire, was driving me to my newest foster home. This was the 9nth one I've been to since my mom died and my dad left when I was 5. I just really hoped this one was better than the last. Apparently, I was headed to some house where a few other foster kids lived.

We were passing a big house that was right on the beach of a huge lake when the car stopped.

"I'm living here?" I asked, surprised. This was a lot nicer then what I was used to.

Claire smiled and said, "Yup. Now come on. I'm going to talk with your new foster mom, Dr. M, and you can get acquainted with the others."

I frowned. I generally don't do well with other people. But I decided I would try my best, which wasn't much, but still. I walked up to the door with Claire at my heels. I knocked and an extremely tall, extremely pale guy opened the door.

He grinned when he saw me and said, "You must be the new girl. I'm Iggy." Then he yelled loudly into the house, "Hey everyone! New girl's here!"

Soon two girls who were probably about 14 (a year younger than me) came running down the stairs. They had similar wide brown eyes, but one had darker, mocha colored skin and the other was just lightly tanned. The mocha one squealed loudly and said, "HI! I'm Nudge and this is my foster sister and very best friend, Ella! You're going to be our sister too now! I'm so excited! We can totally like-" Ella clamped a hand over her mouth, shutting her up.

I smiled gratefully at Ella and she grinned back and said, "Nudge tends to talk a lot."

Nudge opened her mouth but was cut off when a brown haired guy about my age walked in.

"Hey," he said grinning at me, "I'm Sam."

I was about to reply when two more guys walked in. One was blond, about my age, and drop dead gorgeous. The other had wide eyes and light hair and was probably only about eight or nine.

"Well hello there," said the older one, looking me up and down, "I'm Dylan. This little guy's Gazzy."

An adorable little blond girl, who was probably only about six, skipped into the room and grabbed my hand.

"Hi" she said brightly, "I'm Angel."

I smiled down at her. "I'm Max" I said to her, and everyone else, just as the last figure slipped into the room. He was tall, and about my age. He had scruffy black hair, an all black outfit, and smoldering obsidian eyes.

"Fang." He said.

I cocked my head, confused. "Huh?" I asked.

Iggy laughed and said, "That's his name."

I frowned. "So Fang," I said, "Can you speak in complete sentences?"

He smirked at me and shrugged. I narrowed my eyes, glaring at him.

Dr. M and Claire entered the room, breaking the tense silence.

"Hello Max," said Dr .M, "I see you've met everyone."

"Yeah," I said, "But I thought there were only a _few_ other kids living here."

Dr. M laughed, "No," she said, "They don't all live here. Sam, and Dylan are brothers. They live next door to the left. Fang and Iggy are also brothers, and they live next door to the right. Only Nudge, Ella, Angel, and Gazzy live here. But the boys are over all the time."

"Yup," said Iggy, slinging an arm around Dr. M, "She's a second mom to us, so you better get used to seeing us around."

DR. M rolled her eyes, but patted Iggy affectionately on the cheek.

"Why don't you all show Max to her room?" she said.

"Bye, Max," said Claire, "Call me if you have any trouble."

I nodded and little Angel lead me up the stairs, the others followed.

We reached the top and headed straight, down a long hallway. At the end and to the right was my room. I opened the door and bit back a gasp. This was so much bigger than all the tiny rooms I'd had in the past. I loved it. The walls were sky blue and the comforter and curtains were deep purple. There was a small white desk and a dresser with a silver television on top. The best part, though, was the balcony overlooking the beach.

"Do you like it?" Ella asked me.

I nodded enthusiastically and grinned. "It's great." I said happily. I blinked, realizing I meant it. Huh. I guess I might just like it here.

"Sorry, guys." Sam said, "Dylan and I have to go. Mom wants us home in time for dinner."

Sam and Dylan waved goodbye and left. Then it was just the six of us.

"So," said Angel, "You like it here. But you're still uncertain about everything. You don't need to be, though. Everyone already likes you."

I froze. How the heck did she know that? I looked towards the others. Fang rolled his eyes and Iggy snickered at my expression. Ella took pity on me and explained. "Angel is…special." She said, "We don't know if she's just really empathetic or if it's something else, but she can always get the general idea of what you're thinking."

Oh great, I thought, a six year old mind reader.

"Well that's…" I said uncertainly, "different."

The others laughed. Well, Fang just smirked and Angel beamed at me. I was beginning to like these people. And for me, that was big.

**A/N Ugh. Sorry this chapter was boring. But first chapters always are. It was mostly introductions and blah. The next one will be better. Chapter 2 will have the start of the faxness:) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hi, again. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter:) and this chapter should make it more clear why the guys are over there so much. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I'm on fanfiction. Therefore I am a fan. So I don't own anything that's important…*sigh***

I woke up to a loud BOOM! I leapt out of bed, muscles taut and ready for a fight. I relaxed when I saw it hadn't come from anything in my room. Curious, I stepped out into the hallway and into a room a few doors down where I could hear yelling.

Iggy and Gazzy where in the middle of the large bedroom, gesturing wildly to the charred spot on the wood floor and yelling at each other.

"Gaz!" Iggy shouted, "Dr. M is going to kill us! You said it wouldn't cause any damage. I thought it –"

"Me!" Gazzy interjected, outraged, "You're the one who said we should do it inside!"

They glared at each other, but then Iggy grinned and said, "Dude, it was pretty cool though."

"Yeah, I mean, it didn't do as much damage as it would have if we hadn't messed with it. I'd say a definite success."

I cleared my throat. They looked up at me surprised.

"Um, hey Max." said Iggy, "Gazzy and I were just…" he trailed off.

"…blowing things up. As usual." said a deep, quiet voice from the corner. I turned and saw Fang lounging in a chair near the corner. I blinked, surprised. I hadn't even seen him.

"Hmm." was all I said.

"Look," said Gazzy earnestly. "Don't tell Dr. M. She said we couldn't experiment in the house."

I smiled down at him. He was just so dang adorable. "I won't. But why are you two here at eight in the morning?" I said, turning towards Fang and Iggy . "I mean geez. You said you were around a lot but…" I trailed off when I noticed the atmosphere turn tense.

"Well…" Iggy began, "Our parents..well our parent isn't so…I don't-"

Fang cut him off and said in a flat, emotionless voice. "Dad left when we were little. Mom's a drunk. Only reason we still have a house is Dad's child support. Dr. M has practically raised us."

"Oh." I said softly.

It was quiet for a minute but then a brown blur sped into the room.

"Max!" Nudge said cheerily, "I looked in your room but you weren't there but I found you in here so it's ok! Why are you in Gazzy's room? And why does it smell like smoke? Anyways, I was thinking Ella and I could give you a makeover today and then we could head to the mall! Do you want to?"

No, I most definitely did not want to. But Nudge was looking at me with wide, hopeful bambi eyes.

"Uh…" I said, trying to think of an excuse.

But then I was saved. By Fang, of all people. "She already agreed to hang out with me today, sorry Nudge." He said from his little emo corner.

I was surprised but quickly covered it by saying, "Yup. Sorry, maybe another time."

She frowned, but then turned back into her normal, hyper self. "It's ok! We can go another time!"

I nodded, suppressing a grimace. But at least I was ok for today She ran out. Yes, ran. That girl has more energy than anyone. Ever. Especially at eight in the morning in the middle of the summer.

I turned to Fang. "Thanks" I said gratefully. "But you know, you're gonna have to really hang out with me. I am not risking getting dragged to the mall."

He smirked and nodded like he already knew that.

All of us went down and ate a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon. Yum. Everyone was surprised by how much I could eat for such a skinny girl. I just grinned and shoved more eggs in my mouth. This was fantastic. I never got to eat this much.

After breakfast I headed up to my room and got dressed. I threw on old beat-up jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I walked out into the hallway and ran into Nudge and Ella.

"Hi again," said Nudge, "I thought you were gonna be with Fang. You know, you could always let us-"

"No!" I said, "I mean uh, I was just going to find him."

I hurried down the stairs and found him in the living room.

"Hi." I said, plopping down next to him.

He half grinned at me. For some odd reason my heart sped up at being so close to him.

FANG POV, 3rd person

Max. She intrigued him. She made him want to be around her, want to talk to her, want to get to know her. That scared him a little but he shrugged it off. He wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to someone who looked at him as if they saw _him_ and not just an emotionless mask. And despite himself, he was looking forward to being around her today.

**A/N Sorry that was so short. I wanted the whole next scene to be it's own chapter so I had to cut it off here. But I will update soon, cross my heart. Maybe even tomorrow. Reeevviiieewww!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N hi again. This chapter has sliiight faxness. It's mostly Max and Fang getting to know each other and stuff. Sorry if it's a little boring but they have to get close before the real faxness can start. Sorry for switching povs so much here, and I did Fang first person. Here it is…**

Max POV

Fang and I sat on the couch in comfortable silence until Gazzy and Iggy came barreling in having a heated conversation about their latest bomb. Nudge and Ella soon followed and started talking (aka shrieking) about the latest Justin Beiber song. Blah. I grimaced and glanced towards Fang.

"Let's get out of here." he muttered. I nodded quickly and followed him down the hall and out the back door. We walked across the beach and into the nearby forest. We were about a quarter mile in when he suddenly stopped and gestured upward. I looked up and at first I didn't see anything. Then I noticed a tree house nestled way up in the high branches.

"Think you could climb up to it?" Fang asked me.

"Of course." I scoffed.

He smirked as if expecting my answer and started climbing. I followed quickly and soon we were both crawling through the small entrance. I looked around. The tree house was one main room, about the size of a bedroom, and was bare except for a stack of books in the far corner. I liked it.

Fang POV

I sat against the wall and watched Max look around the tree house, her large brown eyes taking everything in. She came and sat directly in front of me, our knees almost touching.

"This place is really cool." She said, "How did you find it? I never would've noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out."

I shrugged and said, "I just looked upo and noticed it."

"Someone's observant." She remarked. It was true. That was my thing: sit back and watch.

"Do you come here a lot?" she asked me.

"Yeah." I admitted, "Almost every day. Just to get away from everything. I don't stay too long though, or they worry. But of course, they'd never find me here. You're the first person I showed this place too." Her eyes widened a little at how much I'd talked. I knew with anyone else I would have stopped after 'yeah', but for some reason having Max's wide chocolate colored eyes boring into mine made me go on. I coughed uncomfortably.

"Well," she said smiling, "Thanks for showing me this place." Her eyebrows scrunched together and she said, "But why show me? You just met me."

Truth was, I didn't know. She just seemed like someone I could trust. "I don't really know why," I told her, "It just seemed…right." There. That explained it better. Something about being with her felt right.

She smiled and I felt a surge of emotion, something I couldn't identify. Then her expression turned serious, "Tell me the truth," she said, "Will Dr. M or anyone here….would they hurt me?"

I was surprised. "No." I said firmly. "Not ever." She looked relieved. Then something occurred to me, "Max?" I said, "Have you been abused at other foster homes?"

"No." she said quickly, "But I know a lot of foster kids who have been. I've been in all relatively good homes, but I just wanted to make sure."

I felt relieved, "You definitely won't be here." I told her, "And hopefully you're here to stay." I added with a half smile.

"If this is too personal you don't have to answer," she said, her tone solemn and curious at the same time "but what's your mom like?"

I flinched. I didn't like talking about either of my parents, but I found myself saying, "She's out of it most of the time. She's always either drunk or sleeping." I shrugged, acting like it didn't bother me.

But of course, being her, she saw right through it. "I'm sorry, Fang." She said softly, placing her hand over mine. I felt a jolt of electricity run through me from her touch. She quickly met my eyes looking surprised for a split second before she covered it, and pulled her hand away. Had she felt it too?

"It's okay," I said, "We've always had Dr. M."

She nodded, a small smile playing on her full, pretty lips. I inwardly shook the thought away. Sure she's gorgeous, but I shouldn't be thinking of her that way.

Max POV

"Tell me about everybody." I told him.

He half smirked and said, "Well, as you can tell, Nudge is a chatterbox. Ella's a lot like her except more quiet. They're both obsessed with fashion, shopping, and that werewolf guy from twilight. Iggy and Gazzy are pyros, which explains their bomb. Sam and Dylan…they're not around quite as much as me and Igg, but we're still pretty close. Sam's kind of a player, I don't like him that much. But Dylan's actually a nice guy. Angel's sweet but she can be manipulative."

I felt my mouth open slightly, "A whole paragraph" I said, "I feel special." I added sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes, "I talk." He said defensively. I gave him a look. "I talk…sometimes." He conceded.

I laughed and he gave me a full smile. I blinked and felt my cheeks turn pink. No wonder he didn't smile a lot, people would be falling all over him.

Then the moment was ruined by a shrill voice screeching, "Faaaaaaang! I know you're out here! Iggy told me you went in the woods. Faaaang!"

"I'm gonna kill Iggy." Fang muttered darkly.

"Who is that?" I asked him, crawling over to the entrance. I looked down and saw a short, skinny girl with long red hair stumbling through the forest.

"It's Lissa." He muttered angrily, "She's practically a stalker."

"Why's she _here_?" I asked, my nose wrinkling in distaste.

"She lives down the street. She walks over here every once in a while." He told me. He didn't sound very happy about it. Just then I saw her look up. I took in her pretty, delicate face.

"She's pretty." I said grudgingly, watching as she headed farther and farther away.

Fang looked at me like I was insane. "No, she's not." He said firmly, "_You're_ pretty. She's awful." I felt a blush heat up my cheeks. He said it so nonchalantly, like it was a simple fact. Truth was, I wasn't pretty at all. But I didn't say anything, not wanting to delve into an awkward subject.

"She's gone." I said, and moved to sit next to him.

He half grinned, "She'll probably be wondering around for an hour. She's not the brightest crayon in the box."

"Oh crap," I said, remembering something, "I was supposed to call my friend J.J. yesterday when I got here."

"Let's go back and you can call her." He said. I nodded and followed him as he climbed down the tree. I jumped from about twenty feet up, landing nimbly and silently on the ground. I felt like a ninja.

Fang reached the ground and did a double take when he saw me already there. "How'd you.." he said, "You jumped." He sounded almost reproving, but not quite, something different I couldn't put my finger on.

"Not from the top." I said, rolling my eyes. I'm not suicidal.

He muttered something I didn't catch and we started walking back towards the hosue.

Fang pov

As we walked back I thought about Max. She was a risk taker, and not just with climbing trees. I was good at reading people's personalities and I could tell. That bothered me a little. It was weird, that was one of the things I liked about her, but I still wanted her to be more careful.

**And there's the chapter. I don't know where I'm going to take this next, but I have a few ideas to decide from. Review! Seriously! Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N, first off, sorry this isn't in bold, but I'm writing it on my iPod touch so it can't be. But I am sooo sorry for not updating in forever. I'm going to start updating a lot more. And I'm going to try and make my chapters longer too.

Max POV

We made it back to the house and I used the corded phone in the kitchen to call J.J., seeing as my cellphone had mysteriously dissapeared since I got here.

I dialed her number and waited. Fang watched me as he ate his lunch of salami sandwhiches. Let me rephrase that, his lunch of seven salami sandwhiches. The boy could eat.

"Hello?" I heard J.J.'s voice say.

"Hey, it's me" I said.

"Max!" she yelled happily, "We haven't talked in forever-" suddenly her voice turned very quiet,"but Max, I really can't talk for long, these people are supposedly really...disciplinary...I guess."

"J.J.!" I said worridly, "You need to talk to you're social worker if they-"

"I'm fine Max, really. I've just heard rumors."

"Well," I said, "If any thing happens you-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll get out of here if it turns out to be bad. But how's you're new home?"

"Great." I told her honestly. "it's definately the nicest so far."

"You're so lucky," she said, "You've always-" she paused and I heard a door open in the background. "I've got to go. I'll call you when I can. Bye, Max." she said hurridly. Then I heard the click and she was gone.

I sat down at the table, across from Fang. Suddenly I wasn't so hungry anymore. I was worried about J.J. Out of all my friends, she always seemed to end up at really bad homes.

"Is everything ok?" Fang asked me curiously.

"Yeah." I lied convincingly, "Everything's great."

His eyes narrowed. "You're lying." he said flatly, "but you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

I grimaced. It was disconcerting how well this boy I had practically just met could read me.

We ate lunch in silence. Well, he ate. I surprisingly wasn't hungry. So I busied myself with watching him eat. (No, I am not a creeper. At least I don't like, watch him sleep. *cough*Edward*cough*) And man, I thought I ate fast.

He threw his plate away and turned to face me. "Want to walk into town? he asked me.

"Sure." I said.

We walked out the front door and down the long road. We passed a park that I immediately decided to go to someday soon. I've always had a thing for swings. Finally, we reached the streets of Glenley. I followed Fang down the main street and into an old, run-down looking store that had a sign saying 'The Eight Note' hanging haphazardly above the door. It was pretty small but had a wide variety of instruments all over. Over all, it was: messy, unorganized, and homey. I loved it.

"Well hey there, Fang." a voice called out. I turned and saw a middle aged woman at the front counter. She had messy brown hair in a bun and wide green eyes. Then she noticed me. "Whose this?" she asked.

"I'm Max" I said, smiling.

"Hello Max, nice to meet you. I'm Louise." she told me cheerily. "It's not too often Fang brings a girlfriend here." she said grinning at us. I felt my cheeks heat up. I opened my mouth to deny it but Fang beat me to it.

"We're only friends." he said.

She muttered something that sounded suspicially like 'for now', but then said, "Oh, Fang. You're customized guitar pick came in today. It's in the back room. You may have to dig around a bit to find it."

"You play guitar?" I asked Fang, surprised.

He nodded. "I'll be right back." he said and left, presumably to go get his guitar pick.

As soon as he was out of ear shot, Louise turned to me with a gleam in her eye and said, "He likes you."

"Uh.." I said, "We kinda just met yesterday and-"

She cut me off, looking surprised, "Wow." she said, "He must like you. He usually avoids most people. If he's only known you for a day and he talks to you, much less takes you into town, consider yourself lucky."

Wow, I thought, with anyone else this conversation would be extremely awkward. But Louise had an infectious, easy-going air about her. Plus, she totally meant like as in a friend...I think.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but abrubtly closed it, turning toward the entrance with a wary expression.

I heard the door open followed by raucous laughter. I turned and saw three teenage guys walk in. The first two were huge, football player types. They were obviously twins and looked exactly the same with their shaved dark hair and mean faces. The third was just as tall but much leaner and thinner. He was handsome, with his chestnut hair and light blue eyes. But something about him seemed...sly, and not necessarily in a good way.

They walked farther in and the thinner one called out, "Hey, Louise mind if we stop by?"

Louise narrowed her eyes. "Carter," she said angrily, "This merchandise is not for you to play with. You broke those drums last time and I told you you're not allowed back."

The thin one, Carter, rolled his eyes and said, "Look, we're bored. Just chill out lady, we're just gonna..." he trailed off when he saw me. "Well Hi, didn't see you there." he told me.

I glared at him. It was obvious that this Carter kid was bad news. And he was acting like a complete jerk.

"What's your name?" he asked, coming closer to me.

"Max." I said, my voice colder than Siberia.

"Max..." he said, and get this, he moved to he was right freaking in front of me, pinning me against the counter. "Why don't you come hang with us for a while?" he said. I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, when I was cut off by a very angry Louise.

"Leave that poor girl alone Carter and get out of my store!" she said angrily.

Carter grinned, "I'll leave. But I'm taking her with me. She looks like more fun than this stupid store anyways." he said, not breaking eye contact with me.

"You have 3 seconds to get off of me." was all I said, my voice hard.

He just laughed and moved closer, his cronies flanking him. "or what?" he asked mochingly. I grimaced. Him, I could take. Him and goons number one and two, not so much.

But lucky for me, at that second Carter was suddenly jerked away from me. I looked up and saw a very angry Fang gripping the back of his jacket.

"Stay away from her." Fang said, his voice cold and flat.

Carter glared at him, "Fang." he spat. It was obvious they knew eachother, and that they wern't exactly best buddies. Carter pulled away from Fang's grip and stood to face him. They were about the same height, so they could look eachother in they eye while staring straight ahead.

Neither said anything for a second but then Carer took a step back. "Chill, man." he told Fang, "We were just messin around."

Him and his buddies headed towards the door. Carter paused on his way out and said, "I'll be sure to see to see you around, Max." He turned, winked at me and left.

It was quiet for a moment, but then Louise said, "Oh dear. I'm getting too old for this."

I half smiled and said, "Well that certainly was...interesting."

Fang glared at me. "What?" I asked defensively.

He looked at me for a second, but then just shook his head and said, "We'd better get going, dinner's soon."

Well, ok then. "Bye Louise." I said.

"Bye, guys." she said, "It was great meeting you Max, even if that awful boy ruined it."

"Fang's not that bad." I joked, knowing she meant Carter. Fang rolled his eyes at me and Louise laughed. "But seriously Louise," I said, "It was nice meeting you too. And don't worry. I can deal with people like Carter."

She smiled and waved as we left.

A/N and that, my readers, is the very un-subtle foreshadowing of the first part of the plot. There was also a small foreshadow at the begining to another part of the plot, but you'll find out about that later.

And so, I have two questions for you, should I have more fax? And should I make them get 'together' soon, like a couple chapters or wait?

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N I'm not gonna bore you with the details but I'm sad about something so I'm gonna be writing a lot more because that's just who I am. So for you, it's goood. And thanks for the helpful reviews, you guys are amazing. I've decided fax, but not an insane amount yet. And to wait until it feels natural for them to get together. But fax will get more and more intense as it leads up to it.

Bare with me for the first part of the chapter, it's a tad slow but the second part is better. Its kinda filler-ish but it's only her 2nd full day there.

Max POV

I got up late the next morning- er,afternoon. It was noon. I pulled on jean shorts and a purple tank top, and headed downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and saw Ella and Nudge eating lunch.

"Hey." I said, heading for the fridge.

"Hi!" Nudge said cheerily, "So, Ella and I were wondering if you wanted to go get haircuts with us today, because, you know, not to be rude but you're hair doesn't have much of a style to it. I mean, it's pretty and everything and I love the whole dirty blond color but it's just kinda long and side-parted with no bangs. So if you went we could get it layered, maybe and-"

"Nudge." I said, stopping her. "You seriously could have stopped after the first sentance."

Her expression turned sheepish and she said, "Sorry." Then she grinned smugly, proud of herself for only saying one word.

"So, will you?" Ella asked hopefully.

I considered. It wouldn't be my first choice of something to do, but why not? "Sure." I said.

They erupted into squeals of happiness. "Let's go now!" Nudge said, "Angel wants us all to go swimming later, so we'd better go now. You know Angel, she'll probably-" she shut up after I gave a warning look. No need for another rant.

Since none of us could drive yet and Dr.M was at work, we walked to the hair place. Thankfully, it was nearby. Actually, it was just down the street from that music store, The Eighth Note. We walked in and Nudge told the lady at the desk what we wanted done. It was apparently a slow day and no one else was in there so we were all seated right away.

"So," the small, blond hair dresser told me, "Your friend already told me what you wanted done." and with that she started snipping.

I decided to just go with what Nudge wanted because really it couldn't be that bad, could it? I closed my eyes and tried to just block out what she was doing. Already, I was bored. I could feel her cutting and then something wet was touching my scalp and tin foil was put in my hair. A while later she undid the foil and washed my hair.

Almost an hour later, She finished and turned me around to face the mirror. My eyes widened. Before, my hair had been almost waste long, one length, and my natural dirty blond, but mostly blond color. Now it fell a few inches shorter than it had been, was layered, and had deep brown low lights that made the blond color pop and vice versa. She had also added fringed side bangs that partially covered my left eye. Surprisingly, I really, really liked it.

"Oh. Em. Geeeee!" Nudge squealed as her and Ella came running up. They'd only gotten trims so they were already done. "I love it! Ahh, you're so pretty Max! You should be a model! Oh Fang is gonna die when he sees you! It looks so great! You wouldn't think the colors would go but they do and it looks natural! I love it!"

Wait, what? Am I the only one that noticed the comment about Fang in the midst of the compliments?

She's delusional, I thought, deciding to ignore it.

"Thanks." I said simply. She beamed at me, and we headed back home.

As soon as we walked in the door I was greeted by a ginormous, and very wet hug from a bathing suit clad Angel. "Hi Max, I love your hair!" she said, smiling, "Do you guys want to go swimming with us? I was just coming back for a drink, but every one is already in the lake."

I nodded, and Ella said, "Is Iggy here?"

Nuge giggled and asked, "Is Sam here?"

Angel grinned and said, "Yes. The guys are here."

Ella and Nudge giggled again and ran upstairs to put on their bathing suits. Weirdos, I thought affectionately. I went to put on my bathing suit, and found to my utter dissapointment that my one piece had a huge rip in it and I had to wear my plain black bikini.

Not bothering with a cover-up, I walked out to the beach.

Everyone was in the water except for Ella and Nudge who were tanning. Hello skin cancer. They had heart shaped stickers on their stomachs so they'd get a tan line tattoo. Those were actually really cool.

I walked into knee deep water. And it was fricking cold. I stood there shivering. I looked up and saw a dripping wet Fang standing in front of me.

"You know," he said, "It's not as cold once you go under."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm fine right here, thank you." I said.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper, till it was at my waist.

"It's still too cold" I complained.

He raised an eyebrow and suddenly launched himself at me. I screamed as he slammed against me and we both went crashing into the freezing water. Amidst all the coldness, I vaguely noticed Fang holding me against him so I wouldn't slam against the rocky bottom.

I came up spluttering. "Fang!" I said swatting at him. He just burst out laughing.

Fang POV

The look on her face, oh man, it was priceless.

"But are you cold any more?" I asked her, my laugher subsiding. We had come up in deeper water, so she was treading and I was on my tip-toes.

"Well...not really." she admitted grudgingly.

"See," I said smugly, "Fang always knows best." I teased.

She glared for a second, then her expression turned more mild as something occured to her. "You're in a good mood today." She remarked.

Truthfully, I was. I had expected Nudge and Ella to keep her busy all day, so when she suddenly showed up here I was immediately glad. Plus, her new hair cut was absolutely gosh, I just lost all my man-points for the day by thinking that.

Now that I was thinking about it, It was almost freaky how much her prescence affected my mood.

"Yeah, I guess." I told her and she smiled at me.

"Hey guys!" I heard Gazzy yell, "Let's play Marco Polo!"

We all swam towards him, including Ella and Nudge who had come swimming.

"I'll be 'it' first." Gazzy said. We all agreed and he ducked under the water and stuck up his fingers, counting down.

I swam out deeper and treaded water. Max followed, staying a few feet behind me.

"You're my shield." she informed me, grinning. She was gonna stay behind me so Gazzy wouldn't tag her.

"No way." I said. She just laughed and stayed where she was.

"Marco!" Gazzy yelled.

"Polo!" we all called back. I made my voice the loudest. I had a plan.

Gazzy started swimming towards me and I suddenly reached behind me and grabbed Max around the waist. I swung her around and held her firmly in front of me. She quirmed and kicked at me but I held strong.

"Whose the shield now?" I teased, laughing.

".Go!" she said, still squirming. Gazzy was getting closer.

"I don't think I will." I told her, grinning as Gazzy reached out and tagged her.

"Gotcha!" yelled Gazzy opening his eyes. "Max is it!" he called out to everyone.

She turned and glared at me, but said nothing.

"Gaz!" Iggy said, coming closer, "The lakes too big for Marco Polo. You're lucky you tagged her. We can finish playing next time we go to the community pool."

"Ok!" said Gazzy brightly, unfazed. He swam off towards Angel.

"Wow, Max." said Iggy, "You must be slow if Gazzy caught you in this big of a space."

Her glare darkened. "I am not slow!" she insisted, "Fang was holding me in place!"

"Suuure." Iggy said, drawing it out. He swam away laughing.

I laughed again, at her expression. She rolled her eyes and shoved me under.

Max POV

I shoved Fang under the water and he grabbed my ankle, pulling me under too. We came up for air and I jumped on his back, resulting in both of us going under again. Instead of throwing me off, he held my legs firmly after he broke the surface.

"How the heck are you still swimming with me on your back?" I asked him.

"I can touch here, duh." he said.

"Well." I said, "We can't all be freakishly tall."

"Hey!" he said, "I'm only 6'2"" he said.

"Yeah, only." I said sarcastically. I was 5'9" and he practically dwarfed me.

We swam around, teasing and dunking eachother for a while, and then everyone went inside for dinner.

After dinner, all of us including Sam, Dylan, Fang, and Iggy, headed into the family room to watch movies. Sam and Dylan were on the loveseat, Ella, Nudge, and Angel were on the couch, and everyone else was sprawled out on the floor. I sat next to Fang, against the wall.

"We're watching my movie first!" announced Nudge, popping in her DVD. It was Dear John.

"Kill me now." I murmered to Fang.

"What?" he asked sarcastically, "You don't like chick flicks?" he said, mochingly.

I swatted his shoulder, "Not really. But I can tell they're like, totally you're favorite." I said in a valley girl voice.

He rolled his eyes. The movie stared then, and surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. Nudge and Ella were practically sobbing at the sad parts. When it was finally over, Dylan and Sam left.

"Iggy," said Gazzy, "Can you and Fang spend the night?"

"Sure." Iggy said, "We'll go get our stuff."

Fang got up and they walked out the front door.

"Well," said Nudge, "I think we should watch the Last Song next. I heard-"

"No." I said quickly, "No way. I draw the line at Miley Cyrus."

"Aw, come on." Ella pleaded.

"No way!" Gazzy interjected, "The chick from Hannah Montana! No. Let's watch Ironman 2."

"Yes" I said, "Thank you Gazzy."

Fang and Iggy came back then,(they lived right next door), each carrying a backpack.

"What's this I hear about Ironman 2?" said Iggy, sitting back down.

"It's what we're watching!" said Gazzy happily.

"Not you and Angel." said, Dr. M, appearing in the doorway. " Time for you two to get to bed."

"Aw," said Gazzy, "But Iggy and Fang are gonna spend the night and I-"

"Oh, they are?" said Dr. M, raising an eyebrow.

"We figured you wouldn't mind." said Iggy sheepishly.

Dr. M sighed and said, "Of course I don't. Just don't stay up too late."

"We won't." Ella said.

Dr M smiled at us and left.

A/N I really hate this chapter a lot. It wasn't much fun to write, but that's ok. I had to do a chapter where they all get closer. So I have a question for you, in the next chapter, should I make it like, one week later, or keep going like this?


	6. Chapter 6

A/N so, going by you're reviews and what I think would probably work, I'm going to continue with sleepover, do a little more, then maybe possibly skip a week but have like a summary paragraph of that week. Then it's going to be time for school. And of course lots of fax.

Max POV

"Well," said Iggy, "Since the little kids are gone and Gazzy would kill us if we watched Ironman 2 without him, I say we break out the horror movie.

I gulped. Personally, I love horror movies...but they scare me to death.

"Oooh!" said Nudge, "Let's watch Dead Tone!"

"Sounds good," said Iggy. He put in the DVD and pressed play. Ella, Nudge and him were on the couch and Fang and I took the loveseat.

When the movie started, Fang and I were on opposite ends of the loveseat. By the time the killer murdered his first victim, I was halfway to him. And by the climax I was pressed against him, my head buried in his shoulder. I heard him chuckle as he slung an arm around me. I peeked at the screen and promptly hid my face again. It was really late and by the time the credits rolled down the screen, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The last thing I saw was blackness, then I succumbed to sleep.

*********it's a liiinnnee!**************************

Whoa, my bed. It was so hard. Ugh, this was not my bed. And what was with the clicking sound?

I opened my eyes in time to see Ella and Iggy slipping out of the room. But where- oh. I was laying on the couch. Or, more accurately, half way on top of Fang. He had his arms securely around my waist and I had my head on his chest.

I felt him stir. His eyelids fluttered once then opened. "What- Max?" he said groggily.

"Uh, yeah." I said, sitting up. "I think we fell asleep during the movie."

He nodded and sat up too. Just then Iggy walked casually into the room, fiddling with a camera.

"You know," said Iggy, "These cameras sure are great for capturing those nice, Kodak moments." Fang and I stared blankly at him, not understanding.

"You know what I mean, like when two people happen to fall asle-"

"Iggy!" I screeched standing up. "That was what the clicking sound was! Give me the camera!"

I jumped up and lunged towards Iggy. He jumped back laughing.

"They're already downlaoded onto the computer." he said, grinning.

I slumped my shoulders, pretending to give up. Then lunged for Iggy, knocking him over and straddling him.

"Whoa Max, I didn't know you felt that way." he said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up." I said, smacking his arm and getting off of him.

I glared at him and he laughed again. Ella and Nudge came in then giggling.

"No. ." I told them. "Now," I continued, my voice lighter, "What are we doing today?"

"Actually," said Nudge, "Dr. M wants us to go to the mall and get clothes for school. We start in less than two weeks so we kinda need to. And I know you don't like shopping, Max, but you don't really have a lot of clothes, no offense. Also, you-"

"I'll go." I said with a sigh. "Just cause, you're right. I need clothes."

She squealed happily and said, "Yay!"

"I'll go." said Iggy.

"Looks like I'm going too." said Fang. I jumped, surprised and turned almost colliding with his chest. I hadn't noticed him before. Is he like part ninja or something?

"Dr. M said she'd drive us and pick us up." said Ella.

And with that we all piled into Dr. M vans. We drove out past Glenley to Lakeside mall. And let me tell you, this mall was HUGE. It was noon now and Dr. M told us she'd be back at four to get us.

As soon as we got inside, Ella and Nudge took off for Aeropostale and Hollister. Fang and Iggy and I opted out and went to find different stores.

"Hey," said Iggy gesturing towards a short blond girl in one of the stores, "That's Claire. I'm going to go talk to her, catch you guys later."

And then it was just Fang and me. "Where do you want to go?" I asked him.

He shrugged and said, "Pretty much anywhere they sell black clothes."

"Right." I said, "In other words, emo stores."

"I am not emo." he said rolling his eyes.

"Sure you're not." I said sarcastically. "Anyways, let's go to pac sun."

It took us about ten minutes of arguing over directions before we finally even found the store.

"Told you it was down here." I said smugly, walking into the store.

"No you didn't! You said it was down the other hallway." he protested.

"Details." I said dismissively and walked over to one of the racks. Fang sighed and headed for the guys section at the back of the store.

"Fancy seeing you here." said a familiar voice from behind me. I spun and found myself face to face with Carter.

"Go away." I said glaring at him.

"You know you don't have to play hard to get with me." he said moving closer.

"It's not hard to get, it's not interested." I said sharply. Out of the corner of my I saw Fang heading towards us.

"Ooh," Carter said, putting a hand on my waist, "That hurts."

"I thought I told you to stay away from her." said Fang, his voice cold and hard.

On the one hand, I didn't like seeming like I needed to be saved. But on the other hand, it was probably for the best, because if Fang hadn't stepped in I probably would've ended up killing Carter.

"Come on Fang, we can share her." Carter said.

My temper flared, "Share me? I'm not someone's property! Now go away and find someone else to harass."

Carter looked at me steadily for a minute and said, "Now Max-"

"No. I don't want to hear anything from you. Just go away."

I glanced towards Fang and could tell from the look on his face that he was about two second away from decking Carter.

"I'll have you, Max. Just you wait." and with that he laughed and walked away.

"Yeah right." I muttered and turned back towards the clothes rack. Fang was still standing there, watching Carter's retreating form.

"Max," he said, sounding like he was trying hard to keep something in check, "He's serious."

"I can handle him." I said firmly.

"Do you even know why I don't like him?" Fang said, "He's not someone you want after you. He...messes with girls, and a lot off times he..."

"Then why hasn't he got in trouble for it?" I asked doubtfully, understanding what Fang was implying.

"His dad's the sheriff."

"Oh." I said, "It doesn't matter anyways. I'll be fine."

"Not if Bill and Tim are with him." Fang said gravely.

"Who?" I asked, confused.

"Those two guys he was with last time." Fang said.

"Oh. Well..." those guys were huge.

"Just be careful." Fang said, looking me in the eye to show he meant business. "Stay out of his way for a while, until he targets someone else."

"You're over-reacting." I told him.

"No." he said firmly, "I'm not.I just don't want you..." he trailed off, muttering something I couldn't catch.

Fang POV

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the clothes. I stayed by her, paranoid now. She didn't get it. Carter wasn't just saying that. If he wanted her, he'd have her. Even if it was by force. And I wasn't about to let that happen. I'd only known her for a few days, but already we were close. I promised myself then, that I wouldn't let him hurt her, ever.

She payed for what she'd picked out and we left the store.

"I'm already tired of shopping." she said with a sigh. "Let's go to the food court."

I happily obliged and we made our way there. We both got burgers and a whole bunch of cheese fries. Suddenly, someone reached from behind me and stole a fry. I turned and saw Iggy.

"Mmm." he said, sitting down. "Now that's quality."

"What happened with Claire?" Max asked.

"Ahh, Claire." he said smiling. "We're going out tomorrow."

"Nice one Ig." she said rolling her eyes.

Iggy grinned and said, "What can I say? The ladies love me."

She chucked a fry at him and he dodged, earning a glare from her.

It was actually funny to watch them banter.

"So Fang, " Iggy said, "Whatever happened to Jessica?"

I noticed Max stiffen and look towards me. Hmm.

"I'm not sure." I said to Iggy, "The date was pretty good." That was a lie. The date had been awful. Jessica turned out to be a total airhead. But it was interesting to watch Max's reaction. She was staring at the table, a sour expression on her face.

"Are you gonna ask her out again?" Iggy inquired.

"I think so." I said. Another lie. I would rather stab myself in the eye than have to deal with another night of Jessica. I watched as Max's face twisted deeper into a scowl. Hmm. For some reason, I enjoyed her reaction. It was almost as if she was jealous.

Max POV

Ugh. Jessica. I don't know why it bothered me, but it did.

"Sweet." said Iggy, "Man, Jessica's hot."

"Yeah." said Fang.

And with that I stood up. "I'm going to find Nudge and Ella." I said trying to make my voice neutral. I turned and started walking away.

"Can I finish your fries?" Iggy called back to me eagerly.

I turned and nodded then kept walking.

Fang POV

"Dude." Iggy said, "I'm thinking of asking Max out."

What? "No." I said sharply. I quickly controlled my voice "I mean, what about Claire?"

"It's just one date, Claire and I aren't exclusive." said Iggy, "And I like Max. She's pretty, funny, and real, you know?"

"Yeah." I said, "But I just don't see you and Max together."

"Really?" said Iggy, looking thoughtful. "Yeah you're right. She's more of a friend. What about Ella? She's a little younger but..."

"Yeah." I said, quickly. "You should ask Ella."

"I think I will." he said happily.

I felt relieved, although I wasn't sure why. When it came to Max, I found I wasn't sure at all. I was only sure that I cared about her. But...as a friend. Yeah. A friend...

Max POV

I found Ella and Nudge in Aeropostale.

"Hey," I said.

"Max!" said Nude happily, "You really should try this on." she thrusted a sparkly t-shirt at me.

"Uh.." I said, "I already got everything I need."

"But you only have two bags. And they're from the same store." she said, sounding confused.

"Yeah." I said, raising my eyebrows. I already had some clothes, so I just got some jeans and t-shirts and a hoodie.

"But that's like nothing!" she said, I noticed she already had about five very full bags. "Don't worry. We can find you some more."

Let's just say that I tried on more clothes than I ever have in my entire life. By the time we met back up with Fang and Iggy I had eight shopping bags full of stuff. And I would probably only wear half of it.

The five of us were walking aimlessly around the mall now. "Guys," said Ella, "We still have like, two hours. We should see a movie."

"Sounds good to me. I say we see Vampires Suck." said Nudge.

"Yes!" Iggy yelled. We stared at him. "What? I really wanted to see that movie." he said defensively.

They had a movie theatre in the mall so we went there, bought our tickets and watched the movie. When it was over we headed back to the parking lot to meet Dr. M.

"That movie was hilarious." I said. (A/N I don't really know if it's good or not, haven't seen it yet)

"No it wasn't!" said Nudge, "It was stupid. They made fun of Edward and Jacob and everyone!"

"That was kinda the whole point of the movie..."

Dr. M pulled up then and we all climbed in again. The whole drive home I had to listen to Nudge lectring Fang about not buying anything.

"...and even Iggy got a hoodie!" she was saying, "Really Fang, you could have at least gotten like a shirt. And try and mix it up. I mean, get something dark blue, green, brown, you need more than just black. I mean it suits you and all but I could definately see you in a more colorful outfit." she paused for a breath and the car pulled up into the drive way.

I got out and headed to my room to put my stuff away, then headed downstairs for dinner. Everyone else, including Fang and Iggy who were staying for dinner, were already seated. We had steak and potatoes. Yumm. Well, everyone except Nudge did. She had decided to become a vegetarian. That was great for her and all, but I would probably give in after a day if I tried. But whatever floats her boat.

Late that night, I couldn't sleep. I went to stand on my balcony. Looking down, I noticed an intricate design of vines trailing up the house. If I was careful, maybe...maybe I could climb down it and go to that park I'd noticed. I wasn't sure how sturdy the vines were, but I figured I could try. I climbed over the edge of railing and reached my foot down.

A/N no, just because Fang and Max got jealous doesn't mean they realize yet that they like eachother. At this point, they're already almost best friends and have kinda more than friendly feelings, but don't quite understand it.

I love reviews! and I love suggestions!


	7. Chapter 7

**IMPORTANT**

**I have to change my pen name and the name of this story. It's a long story.**

**New story name: summerxxhighschoolxxfax **

**New pen name: dntblink**

**I am so sorry for doing an A/N, especially so early in the story. I'll post another chapter tomorrow. **


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Hey there, sorry again about the last A/N chapter. Here's the next actual chapter. This is basically developing Max and Fang and the faxness.

Max POV My foot found purchase on the thick vine. Here goes nothing, I thought as I tentatively put my weight on the vine. It didn't break. Excellent. I climbed all the down and headed out to the road.

I walked quickly to the park, and sat on the swings, thinking.

Fang POV

Being the insomniac that I am, I couldn't sleep. I quietly left my house through the back door, debating whether to go to the tree house, or the park. I started towards the tree house, then changed my mind. I hadn't been to the park in a while, and something told me I should go there.

I walked down the road and to the park. To my surprise, someone was already there, on the swings. I walked in the shadows at the edge of the trees, heading towards the person. As I got closer, I could make out long hair, and slender hands gripping the chain. So it was a girl. The girl looked up and the light caught her face. It was Max.

"Max?" I said, surprised.

She leaped up and off of her swing, spinning around to face me.

"Fang?" she said, sounding incredolous, "What the heck?"

She walked up and whacked me on the arm. "You scared me," she said reprochfully, "What are you even doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I told her.

She glared at me. "I couldn't sleep." she said.

I nodded, "Same here."

"Well," she said, "Next time make some noise or something. Gosh. I thought you were some pedophile who was gonna murder me."

I chucked, "How do you know I'm not?" I joked.

"Ha ha, you are so funny." she said dryly, sitting back down on her swing.

I sat on the swing next to hers and we both swang lightly back and forth.

"You really shouldn't go off by yourself at night" I said.

"I can take care of myself." she said. I didn't doubt that. She was tough but...still.

She swung higher. "I really like swinging." she said, more to herself than to me.

"Why's that?" I asked her.

"I've always had a fascination with birds and flying." she said, "And swinging makes me feel like I can." I noticed her blush, as she thought what she'd said was stupid.

"That makes sense." I said.

She smiled and kept swinging. We sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"Do you know what time it is?" she asked.

I glanced at my watch, "2:30." I said.

"Oh wow, we should get going." she said hopping off her swing and landing lightly.

I followed after her and we walked back to our houses.

"G'night, Fang." she said, quickly hugging me. She walked off towards the back of her house, leaving me standing there dumbfounded. It had felt so nice having her arms around me, and I wished it would've lasted longer. And that was weird. I generally hate people touching me. But Max was different. She was...Max. There was no way to describe it. She just felt right.

Max POV

I climbed up the vines and into my room. I'm not really sure why I hugged Fang. It just seemed like I should. Whatever. He didn't seem like a touchy feely kind of guy, but he hadn't looked disgusted or anything so I figured he didn't mind. I crawled into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Oh Maaxxxx!" I snapped my eyes open and saw Angel sitting on my stomach, grinning down at me.

"Hi Angel," I murmered, trying to go back to sleep.

"No, Max" she said, "Don't go back to sleep. We're going bowling!"

Well that's...random. "I'll stay home." I said.

"No!" she said, "We're all going! Even Dylan and Sam and Fang and Iggy!"

"But...why?"

"Because I've been wanting to ever since my friend Patrick went because he said girls couldn't bowl 'cuz we're too weak. So Dr. M said she'd take me bowling sometime just so I could get a good score and prove him wrong."

"Oh, I see." I said smiling, I knew what it was like to prove a sexist piggy wrong, "I'll go." I said.

"Yay!" she squealed hugging me and running out of my room.

I got up and pulled on jean shorts and a back t-shirt that had silver wings on the back. I went downstairs and ate a bowl of ceareal.

"So," I said, walking into the front room, "Arn't we going bowling?"

"Yup." said Iggy from his spot on the couch, "We're waiting for Ella and Nudge. They're still getting ready."

I nodded and sat down.

A few minutes later Ella and Nudge came running down the stairs, each wearing tons of make up and mini skirts. Now, this may just be me, but it seemed to me like it would be a bit awkward to bowl in a mini skirt.

"Let's get going," said Angel excitedly.

"How are we getting there?" I said.

"I just got my license." said Dylan, grinning proudly.

"Lucky." I said enviously.

We took Dr. M's mini van, beacuse there was no way we were all gonna fit in Dylan's little sports car. After about 10 minutes, we got out an walked into the bowlig alley. We payed and got shoes and lanes. The first lane was Fang, Angel, Dylan, and me. The second lane was Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, and Iggy.

Dylan bowled first in my lane an got a strike.

"Yes!" he said. I high-fived him.

Then little Angel went up and rolled a spare. "Yay!" she shrieked and hugged me, "I knew I could do it!"

"Good job, sweetie." I said proudly.

Next was Fang, who bowled a spare.

"Nice." I said. And then it was my turn. I got my ball and walked up. I hadn't said anything, but I've never bowled before. I did what everyone else had done, and to my dissapointment I only knocked down one pin. I heard Fang snicker and I shot him a glare. My second bowl didn't hit any pins.

"Not a word." I told Fang, sitting next to him. He looked at me innocently and didn't say anything.

"It's ok Max," said Angel, "You'll get it next time." I smiled grimly at her.

They all bowled again with the same results, and then it was my turn again. I raised my arm back and prepared to swing it forward.

"Wait." said Dylan, coming up behind me, "You're doing it wrong. Let me help."

"I can do it." I insisted.

"Just let me help, ok?" he said.

I sighed and nodded.

"Now," he said, placing his left hand on my waist and his right hand over mine on the ball. Oh please, I thought, could he be more obvious? "Swing like this." he said, moving my hand, "and keep your wrist straight. Now, release...here. Ok, now try it."

He stepped back and I did as I was told. The ball went sailing down and knocked over all but three pins. Then I knocked down the rest of them, getting a spare.

"Yes!" I said happily, hugging Dylan for emphasis. "Thanks!"

"No problem." he said, smiling at me. You know, he really is cute. Not as handsome as Fang, but he's not so bad. Wait...what? Why was I comparing him to Fang, and why did I call Fang...ugh I don't even want to think it again. I didn't...did I like Fang that way? No...no way...

I sat back down and took a sip of my coke. I noticed Fang was staring stonily straight ahead

"What's with you?" I said, nudging him with my knee.

"Nothing." he said.

"Ok..." I said, unsurly.

"You and Dylan seem to be having fun." he said flatly.

Oh. So that's why he was mad...but what did that mean? "Yeah, I guess." I said.

He went up to bowl and Angel took his spot next to me. "You know," she said, "Dylan likes you."

I blanched, "Angel, honey, you don't-"

"But I do know that!" she insisted. "I...can tell. From his mind."

"His mind?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. Remember how I can know what people are thinking? Well, most people don't believe me, but it's not just 'cuz I'm observant. I can see inside people's minds."

Well that's not creepy at all. Note the sarcasm.

"I'm not creepy." she said, sounding hurt."I can't help it."

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, "I know. It's actually really cool."

She smiled. "Anyways, Dylan likes you. And Fang got mad when you hugged him. But it's hard to read Fang's mind. He has good mental blocks."

Personally, I was still taking in that she could actually really and truly read minds. But I was also wondering why that would make Fang mad...

"I think it's 'cuz Fang likes you." Angel said innocently.

I felt my eyes widen. Despite myself, that made me really happy. Huh. That's odd.

"It's 'cuz you like him too." she said, "You just haven't accepted it yet."

"Ok, sweetie." I said, feeling very freaked out and confused, "Thanks for telling me all this but-"

"You're turn." said Fang walking back over, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. Angel stared pointedly at me and giggled. I gave her a look and went to bowl. Using Dylan's technique, I got another spare.

The rest of the game continued on like this and in then end, Dylan got the highest score, then Fang, and Angel and me tied. That was fun and all, but now I was just really, really confused.

A/N That was kind of short, sorry. But I wanted to put it up soon to make up for the A/N. Please review! And of course, I have a question. When should I make Max and Fang 'get together'? Soon? After the first week of school? Not for a long time? 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Hmm, so after this chapter I'm gonna take the fax up a notch. And they're gonna start school in the next one. I've decided to skip a week, just so the story can move faster.

This is basically building up to the fax.

Max POV

The rest of that day passed by uneventfully. Mostly I just layed around the house, still confused about what Angel had told me. The rest of the week passed by similarly. Fang and I were closer than ever, and I had also gotten to know everyone else better as all, I was happy.

I rolled out of my bed Friday morning, and threw on a pair of black denim shorts and a sky blue tank top. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen for breakfast. Iggy was at the stove, frying some bacon that looked absolutely delicious I had already grown accostumed to him and Fang being around so much.

"Mmm, You should give me some of that." I said sweetly.

He rolled his eyes and said, "I suppose I can spare a few pieces."

"Thanks Ig!" I said happily. He finished the bacon and handed me a plate with a few pieces. And yum, the bacon was amazing.

We finished and went into the living room. Ella, Nudge, Fang, and Angel were already there, sitting in various places.

"Hey, Max." Fang said, as I plopped down next to him.

"Mornin, Fang." I said, leaning against him and closing my eyes. I was not a morning person.

"School starts Monday," he said, "If you can't handle being up at 9:30 then I don't know what you're-"

"Ugh." I groaned loadly cutting him off, "I don't even want to think about school."

"Excited, I see." he said sarcastically.

"Very." I said dryly.

"Let's go to the tree house." he murmered, so the others wouldn't hear.

"Mmkay." I said standing up. We walked out the back door and started walking through the woods.

We reached the tree and Fang started climbing, when I heard someone call, "Max!"

Fang froze. "Go up, I'll be there in a minute." I told him. He nodded and kept climbing.

"Hey, Max!" the voice called again. I turned and saw Dylan jogging towards me.

"Hi Dylan, what brings you out here?" I asked.

"Well, I came by your house but Nudge told me you just left, out the backdoor and I figured I could try looking around and I thought I heard someone in the trees. And then I found you and I uh..." he paused in his rambling and looked at me shyly, "I was looking for you because I wanted...Iwantedtoaskyouout." he mumbled the last part.

"Could you repeat that?" I said, unable to understand him.

"I wanted to know if you would like to go out with me sometime..." he said looking hopeful.

"Oh." I said, feelig my eyes widen, "I-uh I'll think about it." He had caught me by surprise and I really didn't know if I wanted to or not.

"Ok." he said, looking down, "Well, I'll see you around. I'll leave you to uh-whatever it is you're doing." he smiled and walked away. I waited until I couldn't see him anymore before climbing up to the tree house. The tree house was kind of a secret place and neither of us wanted the others to find out about it.

"What did he want?" Fang asked, he nose wrinkling slightly in distaste.

"First of all, I thought you liked Dylan," I said. Fang shrugged and said nothing. "He asked me out." I admitted.

Something flashed in Fang's eyes but passed quickly. "And what did you say?" he asked.

"I said I'll think about it." I said, moving to sit next to Fang. He didn't say anything.

"So," I said trying to calm the suddenly tense atmosphere, "Any particular reason you wanted to come here?"

He shrugged and said, "Summer's ending. It's hard to climb to here in the winter. The branches get icy."

"We'll manage." I said surely.

"I'm sure we will." he said half smiling.

"I wish it would stay summer forever." I complained, leaning my head against Fang's shoulder.

"Me too." he said quietly. He sure was being quiet. I mean, he usually was around everyone else but when it was just him and me his sentances usually wern't so clipped.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He shrugged. "Seriously, you're acting weird." I said. He still said nothing. "Say something!" I said sternly. Still he stayed silent. "Seriously Fang!" I said and once again got nothing.

I moved so I was sitting in front of him, straddling his legs. I put my hands on his shoulders and shook him once. "Talk." I growled, my face inches away from his.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but he didn't say anything.

"Fang!" I yelled angrily, "You better talk now or I'll..." I paused as I thought of something I could threaten, "or I'll tickle you." I decided.

His smirk grew more pronounced and he raised an eyebrow but still he said nothing. "You asked for it." I said and started mercilessly tickling his sides. He fell over howling with laughter, trying fruitlessly to push me off of him.

"Ok, ok!" he yelled in between laughs. Gosh, he was ticklish.

I stopped tickling him and realized when he'd fallen I'd ended up on top of him. Still, I made no move to get off. "Why wouldn't you talk?" I demanded.

"It was funny." he said, half grinning at me.

"It was not!" I said, reaching down to tickle him again. He grabbed my hands and flipped us over, so he was over me. With one hand he held both of mine above my head and with the other he began tickling me.

"No!" I yelled in between laughs, "Fang stop!"

"Why should I?" he asked still tickling me.

"Because I told you to!" I gasped out. He sighed but stopped and got off me, sitting back down. I glared at him.

"You started it." he said.

"Nuh-uh you did by not talking." I protested.

"We sound like little kids." he commented.

"So." I said, "little kids have it made."

"Yeah," he agreeed, "I miss being little sometimes."

"Me too. Then I'd be going into elemtary school insead of sophomore year." I groaned.

"Yeah." he agreed. "But it won't be so bad. I'll be there too."

"Well of course." I said, "School would suck without my best friend."

He paused and looked at me, one of his rare, breathtaking smiles lighting up his face. "I'm you're best friend?" he asked.

"Yup." I said unashamed.

"Good 'cuz you're mine too." he said knocking his shoulder against mine.

"I'm starving." I announced, breaking the mood in that oh so charming way I have. Note the sarcasm. "Iggy only gave me four pieces of bacon for breakfast."

He smirked and reached behind the stack of books in the corner, pulling out a bag of cookies.

"Cookies!" I said, incredulously. I grabbed for them then paused. "How long have they been here?" I asked suspiciously.

"Ew, Max, I wouldn't eat old cookies. I brought them in my pocket today, you were too busy with Dylan too notice." his tone was slightly bitter at the last part.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a cookie. I closed my eyes to fully enjoy the cookie experiance. "Yum" I said, reaching for another one "Thank you Fang."

"Thank Iggy, he made them." Fang said.

"Ah, thank goodness for Chef Iggy." I said. Fang chuckled.

We sat around talking and eating cookies for a while, then went back inside once we were bored.

"Whatcha guys doin?" I asked walking into Ella's room. Nudge and Ella were sitting around, you guessed it, talking.

"Oooh, Max, you never did let us give you that make over..." said Ella.

"Oh, erm, not today guys." I said. I didn't want to have a make over of course, but I knew it would happen eventually. These girls were determined.

"Okey dokey." Nudge said, "So anyways, what do you think about me getting my hair died a shade darker, for a more dramatic-" I stopped listening, uninterested.

Slowly, I backed out of the room. I went over to Gazzy's room and entered, only to find I couldn't see anyhting through the thick smoke.

"Ugh, Gazz, I can't see..." I stumbled forward.

"Shut the door!" I heard Gazzy yell, and someone shut it.

"Why?" I said, "We need to let the smoke out..."

"Max get down!" I heard Iggy say urgently. I did as he asked, dropping to my hands and knees on the floor. I could make out three distinct shapes. I crawled over towards them and saw it was Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang.

"What the heck guys?" I said incredulously.

"What? We were just making a simple smoke bomb, but it got out of hand." said Gazzy.

"Hey, not 'we', just you guys. I had no part in this." said Fang.

"Uh-huh, and we're not opening the door because?"

"We'll get in trouble. Dr. M will notice the smoke. Don't worry it'll disentegtate in a few minutes. I just hope it's not toxic..." Iggy said.

"Ever think of opening the window?" I said.

"Oh, uh, yeah that might work except that the window doesn't open anymore due to an unfortunate disaster with and expirement involving-"

"I don't want to know." I said, cutting him off. We stayed down for a few minutes and then just as Iggy said the smoke cleared and we got up.

"Crazy pryos..." I muttered, leaving the room.

A/N there it is. They start school next and the story should start moving faster. Review! Ideas? Suggestions? Things you like? Things you hate?


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N don't worry peoples there will not be mylan. I hate mylan :P Dylan is purely there to make Fang jealous but Dylan and Max will not get together. Ok, finally at the end of this chapter, there is fax.**

Disclaimer: I haven't been doing these so I hope I don't get in trouble but I seriously doubt I will, aaaanyways, I don't own anything I'm merely fan, thus FANfiction.

Max POV

"Max, get up!" Nudge yelled for the fifth time. It was Monday morning, time for school.

"No.." I murmered turning over.

"Come on Max you only have like twenty minutes before we have to leave! Fang and Iggy are already here to walk with us. You're the last one up. I mean, it's going to be so fun! It's my first year of high school! It's your second year but it'll still be fun and-"

"Ohmygosh Nudge shut up." I said crossly, sitting up.

"Yay you're up!" she said, "Now get dressed."

She left and I got ready, putting on a pair of dark blue ripped skinny jeans and a black baggy Paramore shirt.

Nudge walked back in, took one look at me and said, "No."

"Come on, Nudge. I look fine." I said.

"No. At least let me pick the shirt." she pleaded, using bambi eyes.

"Fine." I said grudgingly.

She looked through my closet and threw me a tank top and a shirt. It was one of the outfits her and Ella picked out for me. It was a white tank top with a flowy low cut black top over it. Actually, seeing as I was expecting pink frills, it wasn't so bad. I pulled it on and Nudge smiled.

"Now for the hair and make up." Nudge said grinning.

"I can do my own." I said. I don't generally wear a lot of make up, but sometimes a little mascara and eyeliner.

"I won't do a lot." she said.

"Fine." I agreed, mostly because we were running out of time and I knew she'd break me down eventually.

She lead me into the bathroom and told me to close my eyes. Five minutes later she told me to open them. She had applied light purple eyeshadow, mascara, and a little lip gloss. For my hair, she'd brushed it straight and let it be. She worked fast and did a surprisingly good job.

"Thanks, Nudge." I said.

She grinned and launched into another rant about how cool high school was going to be.

We walked downstairs and into the living room, seeing as I'd woken up too late for breakfast. The others were all sitting around already ready. Iggy was wearing jeans and a red and white striped shirt. Fang was of course wearing his all black jeans and a t-shirt. Nudge and Ella both had jean skirts and brand name t-shirts on. Gazzy was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a bomb on it, and Angel had an adorable pink dress on.

"Let's get going guys." said Iggy, standing up. We had to drop Gazzy and Angel off at the elementary school and then walk to the high school. I couldn't wait to get my license so I could drive.

We started out walking and dropped Angel and Gazzy off.

"Bye guys!" said Angel happily. She skipped off pulling Gazzy with her.

Soon we reached the Dreaded Root of all Evil... I mean school. As you may have noticed, I don't like school. The teachers, the home work, the other kids, I dislike all of it. But maybe, just maybe, it will be different this time. At least I knew Fang, Iggy, Sam, and Dylan who were all in my year.

I felt someone squeeze my hand then let go. I looked up and saw it was Fang. He gave me a reassuring half smile as we walked in the building.

I pulled out my schedule and looked at it. I had every class except Science with Fang, and had the other guys in most of my classes.

First off, was first period intermediate French. Fang and I took seats at the back of the classroom right before the bell rang and the teacher, Ms. Collins, started drabbling about her 'expectations for her students'. All I can say is she better not 'expect' more from me then showing up.

Finally, the bell rang and we went through a similar routine for second period math. This time Sam was with us as well. Then was history, where the wonderful teacher sat Iggy directly behind me and I had to endure an hour of being poked repeatedly. And lastly before lunch was creative writing, which wasn't so bad.

I bought lunch and sat down at a table with Fang, Iggy, Dylan, Nudge, Ella, and another girl I didn't know. Apparently Sam was sitting with the football jocks.

"Nudge, Ella?" I asked, perplexed. "Why are you guys here? Aren't you freshman?"

"Yup." said Ella, "But the school's so small they don't do lunch times by grade."

"Oh, cool." I said smiling.

"Hi, I'm Claire." said the short blond girl at our table.

"Oooh, Claire." I said raising my eyebrows at Iggy, remembering the mall trip. "I'm Max." I smiled and she grinned back.

"So, you and Iggy have a thing, eh?" I asked, purely to mess with Iggy. Him and I have that kind of friendship: always messing with eachother. It worked. He turned bright red and glared at me.

She laughed, patted his cheek and said, "He wishes." I decided then that I liked her.

I laughed and Iggy pouted. "Just kidding." she said and hugged him. He hugged her back and mouthed 'revenge' to me, over her head.

"Hey, Chris!" he called to a guy that was passing our table.

The guy, Chris, turned and said, "Yeah Iggy?"

"My friend Max here wants to ask you out, but she's too shy." he said gesturing to me.

"No!" I said quickly, "He's delusional, didn't take his meds today. So, run along now." Chris left looking very confused.

"Iggy!" I said angrily. He just laughed and high fived Fang.

"Traitor." I muttered to Fang.

Fang just chuckled and said, "It was funny. Chris actually looked excited there for a second."

"Shut up." I said glaring. But my glare wavered and soon I laughed too.

My next class was science, where Iggy succeeded in blowing up his book. And the sad thing? We weren't even using any chemicals, it was biology.

Then was woodshop which was pretty cool. And lastly, gym, where since it was the first day, we did nothing but listen to the teacher talk.

Then, finally, my first day of school at Glenley Woods Tower, was complete. I burst through the front doors of the school with Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and Ella at my heels.

"Freedom!" Iggy yelled over dramatically. Fang rolled his eyes and puched Iggy in the shoulder.

"How dare you lay a hand on me, my dear brother?" Iggy said in a mochingly outraged voice. "That's it. I'm leaving and taking these two with me." he grabbed Ella and Nudge, who were giggling madly, tucked one under each arm, and ran ahead of Fang and I.

"That boy has got issues." I said, shaking my head.

"Come on, Max," said Fang, "We all know you're the one with the issues."

"At least I'm not emo." I said, knocking my shoulder into his.

"For the last time," he began.

"I know, I know," I immitated his deep voice, " 'Just because I wear black and am quiet does not make me emo.' "

He stared at me blankly. "Was that voice supposed to me, or a dying walrus?" he said.

"Shut up." I said, knocking my shoulder into his. "It sounded just like you."

"All I can say is, don't try to get a job doing impressions." he said.

I glared at him. He smirked. "Very intimidating." he said dryly.

Suddenly, he stopped and stuck his arm out, blocking me too.

"Fang?" I said curiously, looking at him.

He getured curtly towards the three people crossing the street about twenty feet in front of us. It was Carter, and his two freakishly large friends.

Once they were out of sight I said, "We didn't have to wait for them to go. I'm not gonna skirt around them like-"

"Max" Fang said, talking to me like I was a five year old. "We're just going to stay far, far away from them, ok?"

"If you honestly think he's-"

"I do." Fang said, cutting me off. "Just promise you'll stay away from him?"

"Whatever floats your boat." I said.

He gave me a look. "I promise." I said, sighing. What was with him? It's not like I was going to walk up to Carter and start talking to him.

A few minutes later we reached our houses, seeing as the others had gotten Gazzy and Angel. He followed me into mine as I'd expected him to. We saw Iggy, Ella, and Nudge in the front room. We headed up the stairs to my room, when Angel came barreling past, followed by Gazzy.

"Ugh." I said plopping down on my bed. "I'm so tired."

Fang layed down and I put my head on his stomach so we formed a T. "Maybe if you went to bed earlier then two a.m. you'd wouldn't be." he teased, all thoughts of Carter forgotten.

"How do you know when I go to sleep?" I asked indignantly.

"Well, what time did you go to sleep?" he said.

"...two." I mumbled.

"See, I know you." he said smugly.

"Yeah, whatever." I said, closing my eyes as he idly played with my hair.

"Guys!" yelled Nudge running into my room.

"What?" I asked, sitting up.

"Iggy got invited to a party on Friday and he gets to bring whoever he wants and of course he's bringing us. So, we're going to go, and yes, you two WILL go. It's at his friend Adam's house and it's going to be so cool, especially considering I'm only a freshman and it's mostly a sophomore and junior party, but anyways Iggy told me to ask you two, but I'm telling you because I really, really want you to go." she said in all one breath. That girl has excellent lung capacity.

"Um..." I said, "There's a party on Friday you want us to go too, with you and Ella and Iggy?" I asked, clarifying.

"Yes." she said happily.

"Uh..."

"Oh please Max? Please, please, please." she unleashed the bambi eyes and I found myself nodding.

"I guess." I said.

"Yay! Thanks, Max!" she squealed and left.

"Do I get a say in this?" said Fang.

"Nope. If I have to go, you have to go." I said, laying back down.

"Fine." he said, "But only 'cuz you asked so nicely." he added sarcastically.

"Shut it, emo." I said.

"Didn't we already have this conversation? I. Am. Not. Emo." he said, pronouncing each word slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Suddenly, he was on top of me, pinning me down. "Am not." he murmered.

I felt my breath quicken as the atmosphere changed and slowly, slowly he leaned closer and closer, until our lips met. At that second, everthing shorted out. I couldn't think, couldn't feel, couldn't taste anything but Fang. I pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, running my fingers through his hair. His arms snaked around my waist holding me against him. I pulled back with a gasp, needing air. I felt my eyes widen as I processed what had happened. His dark eyes stared back into mine, a look of wonder in them.

"Fang...what...what are," I couldn't get my words out right.

He sat up, pulling. me up with him. Still he said nothing, just kept staring at me.

"I...what..." I couldn't think straight for two reasons. One, I had just freaking kissed my best friend. And two, I could still feel where he'd kissed me and I kept thinking of how I wanted him to kiss me again.

"Well," he said slowly, looking at me shyly, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

"You have?" I said, surprised.

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something else, just as Gazzy came running into the room.

"Guys!" he yelled excitedly, "Come see what we made!" and with that he grabbed both of our hands and dragged us out of the room.

**A/N and they kiss!:D yay fax! And don't kill me, I had to make someone interrupt them because at the party in the next chapter, some stuff is gonna go down. So review please! Tell me what you think. And please help me with ideas for what happens at the party. Should Lissa or Jessica or someone be all over Fang? Should Carter and his creepiness be there and mess with Max? Should Dylan be all icky and Dylany? I love your suggestions and opionins:) **


	11. Chapter 11

A/N. Thanks for your reviews:) here's the next chapter. And it probably seems weird, but I'm changing the name of the story again. I had been thinking about it, and then a lovely reviewer suggested it too so I think I probably should. Thanks for that suggestion

So the new story name: Life's a Ride.

And I won't change it again, honest.

Disclaimer: these are stupid. But anyways, I don't own anything in any chapter.

Max POV

Things were weird between Fang and I. This whole week we never hung out alone and he kept giving me this weird look. As for me, I was a little freaked out still. Mostly because to be honest, on the one hand for me the kiss had been more than just some accident. But on the other hand, I didn't want to lose my best friend. So being the stubborn person I am, I decided to pretend nothing happened and if he wanted to bring it up then he could.

At the moment, it was Friday after school and Nudge, Ella, and I were getting ready for the party. Well, Nudge and Ella were getting ready. I was sitting around procrastinating.

"Oh Max!" said Ella, "We picked out your outfit." She walked over and handed me some clothes. Her and Nudge were now completely ready.

"Uh, no." I said firmly, staring incredulously at the skirt and tight shirt she'd handed me.

"Oh, please Max," said Nudge coming towards me, "You'd look so pretty! And you never wear skirts to school so would you please just wear one now? Please?"

"No." I said firmly.

"Pleeeeaaasseee" they chorused, using huge bambi eyes.

"No...ok fine." what can I say? The bambi eyes got to me.

"Yay!" They yelled and hugged me.

I went into the bathroom and pulled on the jean skirt and shirt. The skirt fell to mid-thigh and the shirt was a simple dark purple with black vine designs on the side. They had wanted me to wear heels but I drew the line there, and put on black flats. I put on my make up, a little bit of dark eyeliner and mascara, and walked out of the bathroom. I was immediately assaulted by squeals and hugs.

"You look so, so pretty!" Nudge said happily.

"Uh, thanks guys. Let's just go. I'm sure the guys are ready." I said, already feeling awkward in my skirt.

We headed down the stairs and into the living room to get Fang and Iggy. They were wearing what they'd worn to school today.

Iggy raised his eyebrows when he saw the skirt. "Not a word." I said sharply to both of them.

Thankfully, Iggy had gotten his drivers license yesterday so we had a ride other than Dr. M in her mini van. We went out and crowded into Iggy's little car and headed for the party. The whole ride there Nudge and Ella would not shut up.

"...do you think any guys will be there that wouldn't mind dating a freshman? Because-"

"Ohmygosh," Ella cut in, "I know I really want to meet some guy who-"

"is totally perfect." Nudge said, "and-"

I stopped listening. Soon we reached the guy, Adam's house and went inside. Already people were all over the place talking and dancing and drinking. Ella and Nudge ran off towards wear the music was playing and Iggy went to find Claire. Which, of course, left Fang and me.

"So," he said, "You don't seem very excited."

"Partys aren't really my thing." I said shrugging.

He looked at me for a second, then said, "Look Max, we need to talk. I-"

Just then a blur of red hair slammed into him. "Fangy!" it cried. Actually, 'it' was that Lissa girl.

"Not now." he growled to Lissa, turning back to me.

"Look Fang, just...have fun with that. I'll see you later." I said and turned and walked away through the crowd of people. I just didn't feel like getting rejected at the moment. Because I knew it was inevitable. He may have said he'd been wanting to kiss me, but there's just no way. He probably was just being nice. I mean, he would never go for someone like Lissa, but he could also do so much better than me.

I walked through the crowd, not really sure where I was going. I looked around for someone I knew but didn't see anyone. The next thing I knew, rough hands grabbed me and pulled me into a bedroom.

"What the heck? Let go of me!" I yelled. I spun around and saw I was in a bedroom, and face to face with Carter.

"Carter! What are you doing? What do you want?" I said angrily.

"Well, Maxie. I didn't expect to see you here, so when I did, I couldn't resist. I mean, I have to carry through on my promise, don't I?"

I shoved past him, but stopped short. Standing imposingly in front of the door was one of Carter's ginormous friends.

I turned back towards Carter. No way was I gonna plead with him. "Don't you dare-"

"Don't I dare do what?" he interrupted, "This?" He pushed me up against the wall and pressed himself against him.

"Get off of me." I snarled, pushing at him. But man, he was strong.

He laughed and stared kissing my neck. I punched him hard in the gut. His breath came out in a whoosh of air. He smacked me angrily across the face and continued kissing me roughly.

This was not going so well.

Fang POV

"Lissa go away." I said after Max left.

"But...Fangy you don't mean that." she said.

"Seriously, leave me alone." I said, pushing her off of me and taking off after Max. I'd been trying to talk to her. Because...I guess I'd known for a while but I cared about her as more than a friend. And I was going to tell her when stupid Lissa had to show up.

I pushed past people, looking for Max.

"Hey," I said to Nudge seeing her talking to a few people, "Have you seen Max?"

"Nope." she said, "But I did see this-"

"Sorry, Nudge. I gotta go." I said walking away.

"Hey," someone slurred to me, obviously drunk. I turned and saw Dylan. "I saaaw Maxie."

"Where?" I asked half heartedly. He was drunk. He probably had no idea what he was talking about. Who knew Dylan would be the type of guy to get trashed at a party?

"Mmm, pretty pretty Maxie" he sang.

"Dylan. Shut up." I snapped, "Where did she go?"

"My Maxie went in there," he said, pointing towards a door. Wait, his Maxie? I don't think so. "With Carter." he added. "Ooh Lady Gaga!" he yelled running towards where people were dancing.

No. No, no, no.

Max POV

Carter was kissing me fiercly, pushing me tighter against the wall when suddenly the door banged open, knocking into his friend. His friend fell over and someone ran into the room. Carter didn't seem to notice, he just kept kissing me and trying to reach up my shirt.

Then Carter was off of me, and I looked up and saw an extremely angry Fang standing over him. Carter stood up and Fang lunged toward him, punching him square in the face. Carter staggered back and Fang punched him again.

"Fang behind you!" I screeched as Carter's friend recovered and barreled toward Fang. Fang stepped to the side and shot a fist out. The guy went down hard. Guess it's true, the bigger you are, the harder you fall.

"Come on, Max, get out of here!" he said.

"Not without you." I said, grabbing Fang's arm and dragging him out of the room. I pulled him through the crowd and out the back door. Only a few other people were out there and I steered us away from them.

We sat down, leaning against the house and Fang turned to me and said, "Are you ok?"

"Im fine, really." I said. "Um...thanks." I gave him a small smile.

"If I see Carter anywhere near you again, I'll-" Fang started.

"Leave him alone so you don't end up in jail." I finished for him, giving him a look. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"Let's just not talk about this, ok? It's over and everythings ok." I said firmly. I was strong. I wouldn't let this upset me.

He gave me a sidelong look and nodded.

"So you got rid of Lissa?" I said.

"Yes, thankfully. Listen Max, I was trying to talk to you before about what happened, when we...er, kissed."

"It's ok Fang." I said sadly, "I know it was an accident. You don't have to tell me."

"No. That's exactly the opposite of what I wanted to say." he said.

"Wait...what?" I said, confused.

"I...I don't want it to be an accident or a one time thing, because I...er..." he said, struggling to find the right words. "I like you as more than friend." he said finally, his voice firm.

"Fang..." I said unsurly. I knew how I felt, but he was my best friend...No, I thought, that's stupid. We would still always be best friends. Pretending to feel nothing would make me lose him more than anything.

"I like you too Fang." I said quietly, looking up at him.

A dazzling smile lit up his face and I had to blink hard to clear my head. He intertwined his hand with mine, and leaned forward to kiss me. As soon as our lips touched I felt the jolt of electricity I was always got with him intensify. I pulled him closer and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I pulled back after a few seconds, breathing heavily.

"I promised Dr. M I'd check on Ella and Nudge." I murmered.

"They're probably with Iggy." he said against my lips, kissing me again.

"Come on." I said, "I don't want jerks like Carter messing with them."

He growled lowly and allowed me to pull him up. We headed into the house, still holding hands. I winced slightly, thinking of what Nudge's reaction was going to be towards Fang and me. The phrase 'talk your ear off' was about to get a whole new meaning.

A/N yay fax! And sorry, but the 'talk about their feelings' scene is the hardest to write without being overly gooey. But I tried. And no, Max did not walk away because she was jealous of Lissa. She knows Fang doesn't like Lissa and isn't jealous. And Jessica probably won't even be mentioned again. And that's the chapter, your suggestions helped a lot. Review please!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Sorry for not updating in a while, I wasn't really sure where to go from there. But I've got the plot figured out...I heads up, lots of fax:] here's the chapter:

Max POV

"...and I knew it was gonna happen, I mean, it was totally obvious. Even though I wasn't sure, I mean, I totally knew so I shouldn't even say I wasn't sure. It's just so great when two people get together! I love romance. I think I need to find someone now, and really Ella and I Iggy need to suck it up and-" Ella slapped a hand over Nudge's mouth, preventing her from going on. We were in the car on the way home and Nudge would not shut up.

"Sorry." said Nudge, her voice muffled from Ella's hand.

We reached home then and tiredly went to our respective houses. I quickly changed into pajamas and collapsed on my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

_it's a line that I'm too lazy to make sure fits perfectly_

I woke up to the shrill ringing of my brand new cell phone. I sat up and grabbed it, not bothering to look at the caller id.

"Hello?" I mumbled grumpily into the phone.

"Did I wake you?" came Fang's deep, quiet voice.

"No dip." I snapped.

"You're grumpy in the morning." he remarked, humor in his voice.

"Sorry," I muttered, flopping back down on my bed.

"So, I was calling to ask if you want to go out tonight. Like, as a date." he said.

I sat up smiling, feeling more awake already. "Sure." I said, "But why didn't you just ask me when you came over today?" I mean, he and Iggy do come here everyday.

"Iggy and I have a project for school. We're gonna be at the library all day." he said.

"Oh. Well have fun with that." I said.

"I'll have loads of fun." he said sarcastically. "Anyways, I have to go. I'll pick you up at seven."

"See yah." I said and hung up.

I got up and pulled on jeans and a dark blue shirt that said 'Scone on?' and had a picure of a scone. It's a joke. Read it out loud, you'll get it. I pulled my hair into a sloppy pony tail and went downstairs for breakfast. I made myself a bowl of cereal and went into the living room.

"Hey." I said, plopping down next to Nudge and Ella.

"Hi, Max." said Nudge, "Where are Iggy and Fang? They're usually here by now."

"They have some project to do." I said, "But Fang and I have a date later."

"What? You have to let us get you ready." screeched Nudge.

"Whoa. It's not a big deal." I said, "I'll probably just wear this."

They both stared blankly at me for half a second, then turned to eachother and started discussing outfit options as if I had said nothing.

"Ok, first of all, when is it?" Ella asked.

"He's getting me at seven." I told her.

"Ok so that means she has to wear something that..." I stopped listening.

"Chill guys," I said, standing up. "We don't need to do anything until later anyways so I'm just gonna go to my room..." I backed out of the room before they could stop me.

I headed for my room, grabbed my iPod and sketch pad and went and sat on my balcony. I grinned as, Like We Used To by A Rocket to the Moon came on. I started drawing the outline of the lake, losing myself in the picture. I finished and drew a different picture, this time of everyone here. Then I moved on to individual people.

I glanced at the screen of my ipod and froze. I had been siting here for four fricking hours. I only had an hour until my date.

"Oh Maaaaxxx!" Nudge yelled, coming into my room, Ella on her heels. "Time to get ready!"

Forty five minutes later I was ready. I'd refused a skirt, so they put me in grey skinny jeans and a black and grey striped flowy shirt. For my make-up, I had on simple black eyeliner and mascara.

Ella went downstairs to get a drink, but came immediately running back up the stairs. "Fang's here!" she squealed. I rolled my eyes and went down stairs.

Fang was wearing his usually black jeans, but had on a dark blue t-shirt. That was new.

"Branching out from the usual all black I see." I said teasingly.

"'Cuz this is such a dramatic difference." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Let's go." I said, and we headed out the front door an started walking. "By the way, where are we going?"

"We're gonna eat, then I have a...surprise place." he said.

"I hate surprises." I said pointedly.

"You just hate the not knowing." he said logically.

"Shut up." I said, knocking my shoulder into his.

We reached town and he led me to a small diner. We sat down at a booth and waited for a waitress.

"I was gonna take you somewhere nicer, but I figured you'd like this better." he said.

"You figured right." I said, scowling at the thought of getting all dressed up and going to some fancy restaurant. He chuckled at my expression.

Just then a tall, dark haired waitress came. We already knew what we wanted so we ordered then. Our food came soon after that, and we dug in. Fang insisted on paying, and we left.

"So where are we going now?" I asked him as we walked hand in hand down the street.

"I already told you, it's a surprise." he said.

I glared but let it go. He led me out of town and into the dark forest. This was beginning to be really creepy. I could barely see anything. Where the heck where we going?

"Uh...Fang? Just promise you're not luring me out here to murder me with an ax." I said jokingly.

"Very funny." he said dryly. Then he stopped and I nearly ran into him. "We're here." he said.

I stepped around him and gasped. It was so beautiful. He had led me to a large meadow with a small water fall running into a river. The moon was visible here and cast an unearthly glow on everything, making it feel magical.

"Wow." I said, my eyes wide, taking everything in. He took my hand and led me to a large rock where we sat side by side, facing the river.

"I found it a few months ago when I was out walking." he explained.

"You sure do find a lot of cool things while you're 'out walking'" I muttered. First the tree house, now this place.

He half grinned and didn't respond, just moved a piece of fly away hair back behind my ear. His hand lingered on my cheek and soon he was leaning forward, and pressing his lips softly against mine. I immediately responded, putting my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. His tongue licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I happily complied, and felt a warm, tingly jolt run through me as his tongue met mine. I moved so I was straddling him, my knees on the rock, on either side of his lap. I ran my fingers through his hair, marveling at how soft it was. Kissing Fang was amazing. He was all I could feel, all I could taste, all that mattered at the moment. And it felt so right.

I pulled back, gasping for hair. I took in a few deep breaths and saw he was doing the same. I stared into his fathomless dark eyes, and I think that's the moment I really realized it. That this could be it. I could fall in love with this boy. In fact, I knew that I already was falling. And it scared me half to death, but I knew I would be okay. This was Fang. He was still my best friend, and he would never hurt me like any of my past boyfriends.

I smiled at him and he grinned back.

"We should go." I murmered. We still had to walk back, and it was getting late.

"We should." he agreed. He waited a second, then said, "You kinda need to get up." I blushed and got off of him.

We walked back and stopped in front of our houses. He looked down at me, leaned in and placed a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. "Goodnight." he murmered, and left.

I went inside, slightly dazed, and went to my room. I put on my pajamas and crawled into bed.

As far as dates go, that one had been pretty spectacular.

A/N hihi. So, that was very faxy for yah. I really hate it when in stories Max and Fang get together and are immediately all 'I love you so much!' cuz it takes time, especially for people as guarded as them, to trust someone enough to say I love you. But they're falling hard and it's only a matter of time.

This story has so many things that are going to happenXD I'm excited to write it all. I haven't updated because I've been figuring out the plot, but now I've got a good idea so expect a chapter or two a week, I think.

I absolutely love reviews. Reviews fuel this story! People asking me to update inspired me to write this now, 'cuz I was gonna wait until after school started. Review!

Should I do another Fang POV?


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I wasn't gonna do Fang pov, but then I decided to. Just 'cuz I already wrote the chapter, so yeah. Keep in my mind, I skipped some time here, mostly because I agree with everyone who said Max and Fang were moving a teensy bit fast. But I want them to get closer. So, yeah. Here yah go:**

Fang POV

School. It was just so boring. Well, except for lunch. And when Max and I talked. And whenever Max was sitting next to me. And whenever I could watch her doodling. And when I caught her looking at me. And...you get the point. Anyways, at least it was Friday.

Max. We've only been dating for a few weeks, but before that she was my best friend. Still is.

"Fang!" Max said, poking me.

"Huh?" I said, wondering why she was so loud.

"I said your name like five times. It's time for lunch." she said impatiently.

Oops. "Sorry." I said, standing up and following her out of the room.

"So what were you zoning out about?" she asked as we headed into the lunch room.

You. "Nothing." I said.

We sat down at our usual table with the others. And, ew, Iggy and Claire looked like they were eating eachothers faces off.

"Ew, guys, pda much." said Max, wrinkling her nose like she does when she's grossed out.

Ella and Nudge came and sat down. Nudge immediately shot a worried look at Ella who was scowling deeply.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Ella said, her tone flat.

I could see pain sketched in her features as she turned away. Hmm. I'd always thought that Ella liked Iggy. That had confirmed it. She'd looked so sad...I imagined if I sat down and saw Max and some guy making out and immediately undertood how awful it would feel.

"I'll be right back." I said, getting up to follow Ella. What? I can be compassionate when I want to be, thank you very much.

I followed Ella out of the cafeteria and into the empty hallway.

"Ella." I said, stopping her. She turned, surprised. Her and I weren't that close. "I know you like Iggy." I said. She flinched but said nothing. "And, don't tell him I said this but I think he likes you too."

"What about her?" she said, making her sound like a swear word.

"He may like Claire too, or he might just want a girlfriend. I don't know." I admitted. I wasn't about to sugar coat it. "I just wanted to say you have a chance with him."

"Why?" she asked suspiscously.

"I'd want someone to tell me if it were Max." I said simply.

"You said 'if it were Max', not 'if it were someone I liked'." she said, smiling. "You really like her."

"I can't picture myself liking anyone else." I said truthfully. I started to get uncomfortable. I wasn't good with the whole feelings thing.

Ella and I walked back into the cafeteria and sat back down. Max raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Iggy however was staring almost angrily at me.

Soon, lunch was over. Max and I started walking down the hallway when Iggy stepped in front of me. "Dude!" he said, "You have Max! What the heck were you doing with Ella?"

Max stopped and stared at me, looking hurt. "Nothing!" I said quickly, "Honestly. She was upset because of you. I felt bad."

"Because of me? Why?" said Iggy, looking perplexed.

"Figure it out." I said, walking away. If there was any doubt that Iggy liked Ella, it was long gone.

Max took my hand posessively. Not that I minded in the least bit. "You scared me." she said accusingly.

"Like I'd ever do something like that." I said, trying to make lighten the mood.

She smiled and we walked into class.

The rest of the day went on as tedious as ever. Then finally it was over. Iggy and the girls went ahead to get Angel and Gazzy, so it was just Max and me.

"Let's go to the tree house." Max suggested.

I agreed and we walked past the house into the woods. We climbed up and into the tree house.

"It's really cold up here." she said. It was almost October and the weather was already getting chilly. That's Michigan for yah.

"We should paint this place next summer." she said, trailing her fingers along the wood.

"That would be great." I said. This place was Max and I's. It was only right that we decorate it.

She started mumbling about how we could paint it, when I caught her hand in mine. She looked up at me and smiled. I pulled her down so we were sitting, 'cuz when we stood my hair brushed the ceiling, which was coated with questionable dust.

She kissed me lightly, and I felt that deep tingling sensation run through me. I kissed her back deeply, feeling the sensation intensify. I pulled back reluctantly

We sat and talked and laughed for a while, before she sat up straight and said, "Crap." she said, "I promised Angel I'd read her a book after school today." she headed towards the door and climbed down.

I followed after her and we walked back through the woods to the house. I went to watch tv with Iggy while she headed off to find Angel.

Max POV

I found Angel in her extremely pink room.

"Max! You promised you'd read me a book, remember?" she said from where she was laying on her bed.

I went and sat down next to her. She handed me the first Vampire Diaries book. Well. I was kind of expecting somehing along the lines of 'Pretty Princess Pony Saves the Day'.

"Uh, Angel this book might be too advanced for you." I said.

"Nope." she said, "I'm an advanced reader. My teacher even said so." she added smugly.

Well ok then. I read her the first few chapters and put the book back down near her bed.

"Max," she said, "Fang's bored. He wants you to come downstairs." she said.

"How did you...nevermind." I had forgotten about her little quirk.

"Will you take me to the park some time?" she asked, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"Sure, sweetie." I said, getting up and heading downstairs.

I sat down next to Fang and Iggy on the couch. We watched House reruns for a long time, before Nudge and Ella came downstairs.

"Guys," Nudge said, "We should have a sleepover!"

"Yeah," Ella seconded, "It'll be so fun like in that one movie we just watched-"

"...when they do and they play truth or dare and-" Nudge continued.

"...they do all those ridiculous things." Ella finished. They were creepy sometimes.

Iggy and Fang agreed and after Dr. M said it was ok, they went and got their stuff and we set up in the living room. Then, of course, Nude insisted we actually play truth or dare.

"So, I'll ask first." said Nudge, "Ella, truth or dare?"

"Dare." said Ella, smiling shyly.

"Kiss Iggy for at least five seconds!" said Nudge, grinning wildly. Ha. Go Nudge. I figured she knew Ella and Iggy liked eachother and was trying to start somehing.

"No way, give me something else." said Ella, her eyes wide.

"You have to." I said.

Slowly, she turned towards Iggy. Both of their faces were beet red as they leaned in and kissed. Soon, the five seconds were over, but they kept going. And going. And going.

"Guys!" I finally said. They jumped apart, still staring at eachother.

"Um, uh, oh yeah my turn." Ella said, "Fang truth or dare?"

"Dare." he said.

"Ok. I dare you to...wear one of Nudge's pink shirts for at least five minutes." she said.

I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing at the thought. Fang looked apalled, but said nothing. Ella ran upstairs and came down with a pink sparkly shirt. She threw it at Fang, who caught it, his eyes going wide. A blush started creeping up his neck.

"He's gonna stretch it out!" Nudge complained.

"It's worth it, Nudge." I said. She nodded reluctantly.

Fang slipped off his black shirt and quickly pulled on the pink one. He had to struggle to get it on, and just barely managed it. It barely even reached his belly button. It looked absolutely, completely, totally ridiculous. We all started laughing our butts off at the sight.

"Fang.." Iggy gasped out between laughs, "You..haha...should wear pink...hahaha...more often."

"It's definately his color." Nudge said. The sad part? She was completely serious.

Fang sat there stoically, his face a light red color.

"Can we just move on with the game?" he said, sounding annoyed. We all nodded, trying to stiffle our laughter.

"Iggy truth or dare?" he said.

"Truth." Iggy said surely.

"Who do you like more, Claire or Ella?" he said. Ella immediately stopped giggling at Fang's shirt and turned bright red, looking shocked.

"Uh..." said Iggy uncomfortably, "Uh..." he mumbled something unintelligably.

"What was that?" I said.

"I said...Ella." he said, rushing her name.

I grinned broadly. Ella's eyes were bugging out and her mouth formed a perfect 'O'. There was silence for a second before Fang announced he wasn't waiting any longer, and pulled his black shirt back on.

Eager to move on, Iggy quietly said, "Max, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I said. I'd learned my lesson from the other dares.

"Have you liked any guys here besides Fang, and who?" he said.

I froze, aware of Fang's heavy gaze on me. I hadn't really liked anyone...I'd thought about maybe liking Dylan, but never really had. I thought over my words carefully, wanting to be truthful.

Fang POV

"I sort of did." Max said, "I thought about Dylan, for like half a second. I never really fully liked him, just considered it. But there was nothing there."

She looked at me quiltily, begging me with her eyes to understand. I did. From her words I could tell she hadn't really liked him, just was interested in maybe trying. It still didn't stop the surge of jealousy.

"Guys, I'm really tired." Nudge said, "Can we quit playing?"

We all agreed and layed out our sleeping bags. Ella and Iggy left to 'talk'. I started to sit down, but Max grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. We sat side by side on the porch swing.

"Fang, I wanted to explain. I never really liked Dylan, I just thought maybe something could happen there." she said quickly.

"Max, don't worry." I said rolling my eyes. Sure, I didn't like that thought but it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't mad or anything.

"Mmk." she said.

I put my arm around her waist and she leaned into me. I couldn't help but thinking that right there, right then is how it's supposed to be. Just Max and me. She stared up at me smiling. I felt myself smiling back and her grin grew. Her eyes were bright as she kept on grinning.

"What?" I said, half smiling.

"Nothing. Just happy." she said.

She leaned her head against my shoulder, her eyes closing slightly and I knew she was tired.

"Come on," I said, "We should go to sleep."

"Mmm." she said tiredly.

We walked inside and she crawled under her blanket. I turned towards mine, but she grabbed me pulling me back. She lifted her blanket and gestured for me to lay down. I obliged and she curled up against me, falling asleep almost instantly. I put my arms around her and fell asleep too.

**A/N Aww and the fax develops. The next part of the plot takes off soon, but for now it's slightly fluffy fax. But that's cool I guess, I mean, I know I love me some fax=] And I'm really trying to make them progress at a good pace, so remember I skipped some time until here. Please people, keep in mind that compared to a lot of stories, they aren't really moving to fast. **

**Sooo, what do you want more of? Less of?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Well...a lot of people said it was too fluffy, and I guess I agree. I just had to like, develop them further, I guess? I was gonna do something else now, but I'm just gonna go ahead and move forward. So, here is a not fluffy chapter:**

Max POV

I was laying down on my bed later the next day, bored to death, when I decided to call J.J. We haven't talked in ages. I rang her number and waited.

"Hello?" I heard J.J. say. She sounded so tired.

"Hey, it's me." I said.

"Max! Ohmygosh hi." her voice perked up noticably.

"Is everthing ok? You sound weird." I said slowly.

"Um...well these people-I gotta go, sorry! I'll call you as soon as I can!" the phone clicked off.

Well that was short. And it had me worried. Something was definately going on.

Still thinking about J.J. I went downstairs.

_linelineline_

"Dude," Iggy was saying, "No way. You have to show me."

All of us had been at the park for a while, a great distraction from the J.J. thing, and were getting ready to leave

"Yeah, " Gazzy said, "I tried it with the cleaning supplies and BAM! The teacher went crazy but it was so worth it."

"We should try it, but amped up." Iggy said, grinning.

"Just stay away from my room when you do." I warned.

"Whatever you say, Maxie." Iggy called, jogging off in his eagerness.

"Shut up, Jeffrey." I yelled back, using his real name.

"Maxie," said Fang thoughtfully, "I kind of like it."

"You can shut up too, Nick." I said. He scowled. He hated his real name.

I laughed and we continued on our way home. We reached the house and went inside and into the living room. Nudge and Ella were already home, sitting on the couch obsessing over a magazine and Angel was on the floor singing quietly to her little stuffed bear. These girls walk fast.

"Hey, guys." I greeted them.

"Hi Max!" said Ella.

"Your phone was vibrating." said Nudge.

I always forgot my phone when I go places. Sure enough, it was sitting on the side table, the missed call sign flashing. I opened and it and saw it was from J.J. Excellent. I needed to talk to that girl.

I went into the kitchen and dialed her number.

"Hello?" she said.

"J.J.? What's going on with you?" I said, getting right down to business.

"Max I just-" there was a loud bang and a clattering sound.

"J.J.?"

"I have to go!" she squeaked fearfully and hung up.

What the heck? Something was going on. I knew J.J. really well, and if something bad was happening at that foster home she probably wouldn't tell. She'd told me it was because she was afraid the next one would be worse. Hmm...I decided to call her one more time, and go from there.

I went into the living room to wait until a reasonable amount of time had passed before I could I call her. Fang and the girls were arguing about what show to watch.

"People, people," I said, "We are obviously going to watch the The Mentalist episode I taped."

"Fine." said Nudge, handing me the remote.

An hour later I told them I'd be back in a minute and left the room. I grabbed my phone and sat down on the counter as I waited for J.J. to answer.

"Hello?"

"J.J. You need to tell me-"

"Max," she said, cutting me off, "Look it's a really bad time-"

"Every time I call is a bad time!" I said.

"I know, and I'm sorry I just can't-" she paused and I heard yelling in the background, "I'm sorry, I really need to-" there was a pause, then a snapping sound, and my phone started beeping, letting me know the call had ended.

Ok, something was definately wrong, I thought, J.J.'s been abused a few times in the past and the signs were always the same...but what if she wasn't right now? What if I like, called the cops but she was actually perfectly fine? She'd be so mad. And they'd probably take her out of that home on suspiscion alone. So, no authorities. Maybe...maybe if I found out her address I could go and stop by for a quick visit and see what was going on. Then I could help if it was something bad, and if it was nothing- then great.

I dialed the number of my social worker. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Claire, it's Max." I said.

"Oh, hello Max! Why are you calling? Is somehing wrong there?"

"No, no." I said quickly, "I was just wondering if you could give me my friend J.J.'s address. You met her before, remember? I just wanted to visit if it was close by."

"Oh, uh, sure I guess. What's her last name?" Claire said.

"Aniston." I told her.

"Ok..." there was a long pause before she came back. She told me the address and city. It ws luckily not too far from here, only about fifteen or twenty miles.

"Thanks." I said.

"No problem, Max. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." I promised. We said goodbye and I hung up.

Looks like I was going on a little trip...but how? I doubted anyone here would let me go. Fang and Iggy shared a car, and I had my learner's permit and no qualms about taking the risk of driving wihout an adult with me. I decided to ask Iggy if I could borrow it. Fang would insist on knowing why.

I found Iggy in Gazzy's room. I opened the door, and both boys hurriedly shoved somehing under the bed.

"Oh," said Gazzy, seeing me, "It's just you." He pulled the explosive pieces back out.

"Yup." I said, "Iggy? Can I borrow your car for a few hours?"

"Why?" he asked suspiscously.

"I need to visit a friend." I said, keeping it simple.

"You don't even have a liscense yet." he pointed out.

"I have my permit. Come on, please? I promise not to get pulled over." I said.

He considered for a minute. "Fine." he said, "But don't you dare hurt my baby."

"How could I hurt that piece of- I mean of course not." I said. Better stay on his good side.

He was already obsorbed by his little...device thingy he was working on. I walked quickly down the stairs, not saying goodbye to Fang or the girls. They'd ask questions, and Fang would insist on coming in case my suspsiscions were right. And I just wanted to get this over with.

I pulled out of the driveway, and forty five minutes later I was at my destination. Her house was small and in a crappy part of town. How stereotypical. I walked up to the front door and knocked. I waited and nothing happened. I knocked again.

The door opened slowly, and there stood J.J. When I saw her I gasped. She had two black eyes and looked so thin and exhausted.

"Max!" she said startled.

"J.J.!" I yelled, "Why haven't you gotten out of here! Look at you!"

She hastily shut the front door. "Look," she said, "This isn't nearly as bad as some places. I mean, look at some places Callie's been." Callie was a mutual friend of ours.

"So?" I said incredulously.

"So, what if my next home is worse?" she said.

"Then you get put of that one too!"

"What if I don't want to keep moving!" she yelled back, ters forming in her eyes.

I opened my mouth to speak, but just then the door flew open, revealing a tall man with a serious beer belly. He looked like he really needed a shower.

"J.J? Whose this?" he said.

"Uh, she was selling something." J.J. said, warning me with her eyes.

"No I wasn't." I said anyways, "I'm her friend. I was just visiting. But I'll be going now-"

"No, no." he said, grinning evily, "We always invite our guests in." and with that he grabbed both J.J. and me by the arm, and pulled us roughly into the house.

I stared into J.J's wide fearful eyes and knew I was in deep trouble.

**A/N So, there you go. Sorry this chapter was a little slow, but the next one should be better. And so sorry it was so shortXD Review! Please! **


	15. Chapter 15

Max POV

The man dragged J.J. and I into the house and threw us on the couch.

"Well," I said, standing up, "I'd love to stay and chat but I really need to be going."

"You ain't goin nowhere, girly." the man sneered.

"Well if I'm staying, perhaps you'd like some grammar lessons?" I said innocently.

Anger flashed across his face and he slammed a fist towards my face. I neatly dodged and grinned up at him.

"Too slow, old man." I said cheekily.

He roared and threw another punch toward me. I stepped to the side, dodging, and his momentum sent him flying into an arm chair.

"Like I said, I've got to go." I said.

I quickly headed to the door. Right as my hand closed around the knob, I felt him grab my waist and toss me over his shoulder.

"Hey!" I shrieked, pounding on his back.

"Shut up." he growled.

He walked over to the couch and grabbed J.J. by the arm. He dragged/carried us to a door and opened it. He tossed, yes, tossed, me through it.

Turns out it was a basement. So there I was, hitting every single fricking step on the stairs as I tumbled down, thinking about how stupid I was for getting into this mess. I landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Ok, ow. I could feel my ribs were badly bruised, maybe broken. I was pretty sure my right wrist was broken, and my head hurt pretty bad. But I would live.

"Max!" J.J. cried, running down the stairs, "Are you ok?" I heard the door slam shut.

"I'm fine." I said, sitting up slowly, "But you've got some explaining to do."

"Oh Max, I am so, so sorry! He usually just ignores me, but when he's mad, well, you saw him." she said, "I don't know what he plans on doing."

I looked around. We were in a large, one room basement with just one window that was too high to reach and too small to climb through. There was a small couch and a cot. Other than that, it was bare except for a doorless bathroom.

"Try the upstairs door." I told her, myself being in no shape to climb stairs.

She hurried up the stairs, but as I'd expected, it was locked.

"Great," I said, "Looks like we're stuck." Then I remembered something. "My phone!" I cried, digging it out of my back pocket.

No service. There was no service in this freaking basment. I would know. We tried holding it everywhere. In the end, I layed down on the couch and she took the cot. We could see through the window it was dark, and we were exhausted. I fel myself drifting off.

I opened my eyes slowly. Why was I in so much pain? Then I remembered. I sat up and saw J.J. already awake, sitting up on her cot.

"Mornin. Today's the day we're getting you out of here." I said confidently. But to be honest, I didn't even know how to get myself out.

I flicked open my phone, and held it up. I sat bolt up. One bar. One bar meant service!

"I've got service!" I yelled happiy to J.J.

She hurried over by me and I dialed 911. It was busy. Of course. Not being sure how much time I had, I hung up and dialed my house.

"Heloo?" a sweet, high pitched voice answered.

"Angel! Angel sweetheart, I need you to give the phone to someone." I said quickly.

"Max?" she said, "Where are you? Everyone's worried."

"Angel, please, it's important. Give someone the phone." I said.

"Ok." she said.

There was a pause and then a deep voice said, "Hello?"

"Fang!" I cried.

"Max?" he said, "Where the heck are you? We've been looking everywhere! I've been-"

"Fang, we need help. You've got to help us, we're-"

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. I lost service.

"No!" I shrieked in frustration.

"It's okay, maybe they can trace the call," said J.J. hopefully.

"Yeah. Maybe." I said dejectedly.

We sat around for a while. I mean, we're trapped in a fricking basement. What else could we do? We were antsy. I think we both expected her foster dad to come barreling down the stairs at any moment. So when he did, I was ready.

He came down the stairs, walking lazily but also off balance. I stood up and moved in front of J.J. She's never been much of a fighter.

"Heyyy girlies," he slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol. That explained how he could barely walk straight.

I said nothing, just stared disgustedly at him. I was already forming a plan. Well, it wasn't much of a plan. I just needed to run around him and go up the stairs...pretty simple stuff.

"You better look at me when I talk to you!" he suddenly growled.

Still, I said nothing and kept my eyes fixed on the stairs. I knew if I let him get me mad, I'd do something I would regret and we'd never get out of here. He opened his mouth and that's when I made my move. I jumped forward, quickly getting around him, but before I could get to the stairs, he grabbed my injured arm and pulled me back. I let out shriek against my will as his fingers dug into my damaged wrist. Oh, it hurt, owwww was all I could think at the moment.

"Let her go!" I heard J.J yell, and then her small body slammed into her step father. He threw her to the side and her head hit the wall, causing her to slump over unconscious.

"J.J!" I shrieked, "You bastard!"

"Don't talk to me like that girly," he snarled. He let go off my arm and drew his hand back into a fist. I dodged, wincing when I strained my hurt ribs.

"Get back here!" he roared as I started toward the stairs. I ignored him, of course. What was I gonna do? Say ok, and walk back?

I raced up the stairs as fast as I could. I could hear him stumbling behind me, and I kept going, staying just out of his grip. I stupidly paused at the top of the stairs, when I hears police sirens. Don't get your hopes up Max, I told myself firmly, this isn't a good neighborhood, of course police come and go. They're not coming to help you.

That was the last thing I remember before his big fist came in contact with my head, and I blacked out.

Ow. Ow, ow, ow. Pain. That's all I registered. I opened my eyes in time to see a large black boot swinging towards me. It made contact with my stomach, and I blacked out again.

I came to for the second time, hearing loud sirens that made my head pound. I realized dimly I was laying on a moving bed of some kind. Stretcher, I thought absently. There was an oxygen mask over my face, and I tried to reach up and remove it, but found I was much too tired to move my arms. I made out a blurry shape above me through the one eye I could open a slit. I focused in and saw it was a woman in a paremedic uniform.

Using all the energy I could muster, I turned my head to the side, trying to understand more of what was going on. What I saw was my...family. Yes, they were my family. They were standing about thirty feet away, probably not allowed to come any closer. I saw Dr. M first, standing with her hands clamped over her face. Staning next to her were Nude and Ella, clutching at eachother and crying. Then was Iggy, standing stoically, holding a shaking Angel. Gazzy stood next to him, his sweet little face crumpling. Then was Fang, who seemed to be in quite a state. He was struggling wildly, his limbs flailing everywhere as two police officers struggled to hold him back. He was yelling something, but I couldn't seem to hear anything clearly except the sirens. That was the last thing I saw, before I slipped into the blackness once again.

Fang POV

We climbed into Dr. M's van, and she began driving like mad, trying to get us to the hospital as quick as possible. I slumped in my seat, banging my head against the window, feeling amazingly useless. I couldn't get the image of Max, laying broken on the stretcher, out of my head. I couldn't think straight. Everything in me wanted to find whoever did that and hurt them. But everything in me also desperately wanted to by Max, to make sure she was ok. All that blood...

I shook the thoughts out of my head, not wanting to loose my control again. Seeing her there, all I wanted was to get to her. It was irrational, I knew that. I couldn't help it. All i knew was if I didn't see her soon I would go crazy. And if she wasn't ok...I didn't even want to think about it. Couldn't think about.

I thought back to the phone call, remembering how her words rang through my head; Fang! We need help! You've got help us, we're- and then nothing. We'd all been worried since she hadn't come home. Iggy told us how he'd let her borrow the car to visit a friend, but that's all we knew. Then the phone call came, and we knew it was bad. But once we called the police, they quickly discovered where she was. Apparently, her social worker had recieved a call from Max, and she knew where she had gone. I wish we'd called the police sooner. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened.

I snapped out of my thoughts as we pulled into the hospital parking lot. I burst out of the van as fast I could, the others behind me. Once we got in, we were directed to a waiting room. It was torture, sittingthere waitingto find out if she was gonna be ok.

After two long hours with no word, a doctor entered the room. "Is the family of a miss Maximum-"

"Here!" said Dr. M, cutting her off, "We're here! What's going on? Is Max ok?"

The doctor took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

A/N I am so, so sorry for not updating! Don't hate me, I'm really sorryDX I'll upload again soon, cross my heart this time. I've been busy writing stories on wattpad, but that's no excuse, sorry. If you wanna read my wattpad (which is kinda like fiction press) stories, then it's the same user name:)

Review! I love reviews:D


End file.
